Until The Dream Comes True
by SpecialKayy
Summary: Sequel to Get What You Need; Rachel, Puck and Amelia are living together in New York and are finally becoming the normal family that they've always wanted. What happens when Rachel realizes she wants more? Future A/U!
1. One

**A/N: So the reviewers have decided and here it is: The sequel to GWYN! This story takes place about five years since the story ended (a little after the epilogue) Rachel and Puck moved to New York together with Amelia and Puck is working on building a career as an architect and Rachel studied music theory in college and is teaching. I've got big, angsty, ideas for this story but I'd like to hear what you guys have to think about this chapter first so make sure you leave those reviews that I love so much(; Remember that the more you review the quicker I update!**

**OHHH- you know how I said I didn't own glee in my last story? Yeah...I still don't, sorry!**

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"Mommy!" Rachel smiled when she saw Amelia running towards her and opened her arms for her little girl to jump into them. She'd just started preschool a month ago and Rachel was still a little emotional over the whole idea of her baby starting school already. Whenever she'd mention something about it Puck would chuckle and Milly would roll her eyes, a habit that she'd learned from her father, before going into a rant about how she was a big girl, a habit she'd learned from her mother. Although it felt like an eternity, some days Rachel found herself looking at her daughter now and wondering where the hell time had gone. Just yesterday she was this precious baby who she felt she had to protect and keep in her arms at all times and now? Well now she was the typical mom who could go on for hours talking about how their little girl was growing up. Even she thought it was a little pathetic. Rachel Berry did not get this emotional about things.

"Hey baby girl." Rachel hugged her daughter and kissed the top of her head before waving at the teacher who was standing by the classroom door and grabbing Amelias hand. "How was your day sweetheart?" She asked.

"Good! We started out with arts and crafts which I didn't like 'cause I like music class bestest," Rachel smiled at that as she buckled Amelia into her child seat set up in the back of her car. "But we made some macaroni pictures and I made Ethan eat one and he said only if he could kiss me so I said yeah and he ate it then threw up all over the floor!"

Rachel furrowed her eyebrows "Did he kiss you anyways?"

Milly chuckled from the back seat "No! Ew mommy!"

"Good. And make sure you don't tell daddy that part of your story, he'll be upset." Rachel knew that this Ethan kid had a huge crush on Amelia from the first day that she'd started school. Puck had almost demanded a meeting with his parents before Rachel calmed him down and explained that it was all just an innocent crush. He was still a little pissed off about it but he let it go for now.

"Am I gonna see daddy today?" Rachel could hear the frown in Amelias voice and sighed.

"I don't know baby, you know daddy is busy at work."

Puck had been busy ever since he'd gotten promoted at his job. He was well on his way to being a known architect and while he was happy and making a shit load of money, Rachel couldn't help but be upset about the whole thing. He was never around anymore and it didn't matter that it was affecting her as much as it was affecting their daughter. Amelia was a huge daddys girl. She practically kissed the ground that he walked on and Rachel knew that he was a huge influence in her life so it was just kind of sad to watch the little girl try to adjust to having someone she loved so much around less.

When she noticed that Amelia hadn't spoken for a while Rachel looked back at her quickly and smiled "How about we go get some ice cream after visiting Aunt Quinn today?"

Quinn had been a really big part of Rachels life ever since they became friends in high school. After graduation, Quinn and Finn moved in together and attended their first two years of college in Columbus before moving out to New York too. Quinn and Kurt had started a party planning company together in which Quinn managed all of the customers and Kurt dealt with the actual planning of the parties and making sure everything went right. The job allowed Quinn to go in and out as she pleased and most of the time she was able to work from home which was why after picking Amelia up from school, Rachel would drop her off with her best friend while she gave piano lessons in a local theater. It was more of a hobby than a job for her but she took it seriously nonetheless and didn't like taking Amelia with her while she was so young.

"Okay!" Amelia brightened up almost instantly and Rachel couldn't help but laugh. Ice cream fixed everything.

"Thank you Ms Berry! See you next week!"

Rachel smiled and waved at the six year old girl "Bye Sam! Remember to work on what I told you, alright?" She watched the blonde little girl nod before running out of the room.

Looking up at the clock Rachel let out a sigh. Her six o' clock had canceled today so that left her with a little bit more time to herself. She knew the right thing to do would be to pick her daughter up from Quinns and spend some more quality time with her than she had been recently but she wanted a little time to be alone. Was that wrong? She had just turned twenty-two years old a few weeks ago and here she was living for other people. Rachel had no problem with giving things up for her child, Amelia is her responsibility and she knew that the minute she'd decided to keep her but now she was a little older and understood better that she needed some time to herself.

Rachel looked down at the piano in front of her and began pressing random keys before she knew it she was playing the introduction to a song that was very familiar to her. She smiled as she started to sing along to 'I Dreamed a Dream' from Le Miz, a play that she'd loved since the minute she seven years old and watched it with her daddy. She'd grown so obsessed with the musical that it took less than a week for her to know all of the songs like the back of her hand and this song had always been her personal favorite.

She'd gotten so into the song that it wasn't until she heard someone clearing their voice loudly that she'd even noticed someone else was in the room. Rachel practically jumped out of her seat when she looked up and saw a man standing by the door with a dimpled smirk on his face. She might have been in a committed relationship with Puck but it didn't mean she was blind. The man had an obviously built body underneath his professional attire, he was tall and stood properly with his head up. He had short dark blonde hair and these deep green eyes that Rachel couldn't help but feel dizzy just starring into for a few seconds. He was gorgeous.

"Sorry to interrupt, I'm Samantha's father, Nathan."

Rachel snapped out of her trance and smiled brightly at the man before standing up and shaking his hand "Don't worry, you didn't interrupt anything I was just-"

"Amazing." He said with a grin as he looked her up and down.

Rachel felt herself blush and she looked down out of embarrassment "Thank you." When she looked back up at him and noticed that he hadn't let go of her hand she took a step back and broke the contact between the two of them "Is there anything you wanted?"

"Why are you teaching piano? You're such a talented singer."

"Oh this is just a thing I do because…wait- I'm sorry but I don't think you came in here to ask me about my personal life, was there anything about Samantha that you wanted to ask me about?"

"Right to the point, I like that." He said with a soft chuckle "I just wanted to know about her behavior. Sam is a little rough around the edges sometimes, she's been a little bitter ever since her mom left us and I just wanted to see if she was giving you any trouble." He said without taking his eyes off of Rachels face.

Shaking her head Rachel just offered him a smile "She's actually the opposite of any of those things. I really enjoy teaching your daughter, she's a good kid. Nothing to worry about around here."

He nodded and stepped closer to Rachel "So how long have you been singing?"

"Why does that matter again?" She asked before crossing her arms and keeping her guard up, she wasn't going to let this random person intimidate her.

"Well I'm not very sure how interested you are in Broadway but I happen to work for a director who would be pulling his hair out, had he actually had hair, for a lead in the revival of Spring Awakening and I happen to think that you would be perfect for the role."

Rachels eyes widened "Are you kidding me? I-I don't know what to say."

"Here," He pulled his wallet out of his pocket and pulled a card out of it before handing it to her "Call this number and ask for Nathan King."

"Th-this isn't like a joke or something is it? You aren't some kind of a pathetic man who walks around New York city conning women into calling him and using them for his own sexual benefits because I'll have you know that I am a no bullshit kind of girl and if this isn't serious then-"

He laughed and put both his hands on Rachels shoulders, stopping her from continuing "This is serious, I promise." He said with the dimpled smirk that Rachel found herself unable to look away from "I'll be waiting for your call Ms Berry."

Rachel watched as he walked out of the room before looking down at the card and letting out a laugh. This was unbelievable wasn't it? Things like these didn't happen to people just out of nowhere. And even if they did, Rachel had a family to think about. She couldn't just stop everything to go be on Broadway. This was insane.

Puck walked into the apartment with a grin on his face. Growing up he never really thought he'd do much with his life. He was born to be a Lima loser afterall, aside from his guns there was nothing really special about him. That was until he met Rachel and Amelia and all of this happened. It didn't matter that he had to wake up at six in the morning every day or that for the past two months since his promotion he'd felt like a fucking dog, he was the happiest motherfucker alive.

"Babe!" Puck called as he put his keys down on top of the kitchen counter before looking over to the living room. His smile only grew a little bit when he saw his girls curled up together on the couch asleep. Sighing, Puck gently pulled Amelia from Rachels arms and carried her to her bedroom.

"Daddy?"

Puck smiled when he noticed his daughter waking up in his arms and rubbed her back gently. "Yeah pretty girl, daddy is right here." He said before pressing a kiss into her hair.

She let out a soft hum before pressing her head onto his shoulder and yawning. "Can we play now?" She asked innocently.

Chuckling Puck shook his head and laid her down on her bed, making sure to tuck her in tightly like he knew that she liked. "Sorry Milly but its way past bedtime."

"But we never play anymore." She protested and Puck frowned when he heard the honest sadness in his daughters voice. It was so fucking hard to resist her sometimes.

"Don't worry, I'm gonna be around a lot more from now on and we'll be able to play all you want. How does that sound?"

Amelia smiled before yawning again and making herself comfortable against her pillow "M'kay daddy. I love you."

"I love you too pretty girl." He said before kissing her forehead and turning the bedroom light off. Puck stood by Amelias door and watched as she fell asleep for a second before returning to the living room where Rachel was still asleep.

Kneeling down beside her, Puck ran his fingers softly through her long dark hair and whispered into her ear "Baby, wake up."

When she didn't even move Puck rolled his eyes. Trying to wake Rachel up was like trying to wake up the dead, practically useless. He nudged her shoulder gently a few times before frowning. Was it possible to still get pussy while she was sleeping? He sat back on the floor and watched her sleep for a second as he thought about it before she suddenly started to stir.

"Stop eye fucking me while I sleep, it's creepy." She mumbled as she slowly opened her eyes.

Puck smiled and leaned forward to press a kiss onto her lips "Can't help it, you're so fucking sexy babe."

Rachel giggled as she put both her hands on either side of his face and kissed him in return. "And you're really happy today." She said between kisses before she pulled him closer by the shirt until he laid on top of her.

"Well guess who's done with training and gets to work normal human hours at work from now on?"

Rachel pulled away and stared at him for a second in shock before smiling "Seriously? It's about damn time! This is perfect." She pulled his face back down to hers and kissed him passionately, letting her hands roam all over his body slowly as she took in the feeling of his muscular form like she'd done a million times before.

"Shit, you seem happier than I do about this." He said as he pulled back for air a while later.

Rachel leaned up and started pressing kisses on his neck while he tried to slow down his breaths "Sorry," She said before laying back down and looking up at him a little timidly "It's just really, really good timing is all."

Furrowing his eyebrows, Puck sat up on Rachels lap "And why is that?" He asked curiously.

"Well I was giving piano lessons today when an assistant to a casting director heard me sing and offered to help get me an audition for the role of Wendla in the revival of Spring Awakening." Rachel said quickly hoping that it'd seem like less of a bad idea if she did it that way. Honestly the only thing holding her back from calling Kevin was Puck. She knew that with how busy he'd been lately he wasn't going to want her going off and being busy while they had a daughter who was still really young and shouldn't be neglected by both of her parents. But she needed something for herself too right? Sure the plan was for her to go into being a music teacher full time and then take care of their daughter while he focused on his career and spent as much time with them as he could but that had never been her dream, her dream had always been to perform and now she had that opportunity. Was she supposed to just pass it up?

"Seriously?" Rachel nodded underneath him and expected this huge lecture or something "This is fuckin' awesome baby, come here!" He said with a huge grin before pulling her into him and kissing her senseless.

She moaned before pulling back "Wait, so you're alright with me going through with it? I mean even with you working and us having Amelia and all of that?"

He just shook his head and smiled "Baby, I know how much you've wanted something like this so you're going to go do it okay?" He said before kissing her forehead. "We can figure everything with Amelia out as soon as you show those directors how fucking perfect you are and you get that role."

Rachel smiled and let out a deep breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding in. "You have no idea how happy I am that you think that." She said before pulling him into another kiss and smiling "I'll call Nathan tomorrow and let him know that I'm interested."

Puck pulled back this time before raising an eyebrow. "The fuck is Nathan?" He asked curiously.

"He's the father of one of the girls that I give piano lessons to. He's the one who heard me singing."

"Oh, so he's married. Cool." Puck said about to lean in and kiss Rachel again.

Rachel shook her head and let out a soft laugh "Nope, divorced. His wife ran off a while back and left him alone with their kid. Isn't that terrible?"

"Yeah, whatever, I don't like him." Puck said as he sat up and looked at Rachel seriously.

"Are you kidding me? You don't even know him, Noah. Why wouldn't you like him?" She asked as she sat up too.

"Cause, he has a dick, he's single, he's straight, and I just don't like him." He said before crossing his arms over his chest and leaning into the seat. Totally not in the mood anymore.

"Noah, you're acting like a child! I just met him today for crying out loud, Nathan is no threat at all." She said before standing up and pouting at him "And I can't believe you have such little faith in me that you would even consider any other guy as a threat. I've told you a million times before that you're the only man for me so I don't know why you keep getting jealous over stupid shit like this!"

He rolled his eyes "It's not stupid shit Rach, I know how guys think okay? They see a hot girl who can sing and automatically everything they think is about getting them into their pants. Its not you I don't trust, it's his horny ass."

"Oh so whenever you see a gorgeous girl singing you think about nothing but wanting to get into her pants?" She asked with a glare that he swore could kill.

"No, baby, that isn't how I meant it. I love you, no one even comes near how fucking hot I think you are." He said after realizing that he might not have used the best words to describe how he was feeling.

"Whatever Puck," She said before turning away from him. "I'm going to take a shower."

Sighing, Puck watched as his girlfriend disappeared into their bedroom. He hadn't meant to upset her or anything, he was just trying to look out for his woman. Part of the reason that they fought so much was because Puck was a little possessive over Rachel. It wasn't bad or to the point where he could be compared to Jesse St. Douche but Rachel was a free spirit, the kind of girl who was used to doing what she wanted and when she wanted to do them and while Puck was kind of the same way he was still really over protective and if there was a chance that he thought Rachel or Amelia might end up getting hurt he wasn't going to just sit back and take it. So he spoke up, a lot, and got in trouble for it…a lot.

"Rach." Puck said shortly after Rachel got into bed. She spent like a fucking hour in the bathroom and he considered breaking the door down a couple of times before realizing that she was probably just trying to chill out for a little while. He kind of understood that.

"Rachel. Don't make me get annoying." He said stubbornly when she didn't respond to him the first time.

Rachel turned her body so that it faced the opposite direction as his completely and continued to ignore his attempts to get his attention. He couldn't possibly go all night annoying her right?

"Raaaacheeellll. Rachel. Rach. Baby. Rachel. Raaaaccchhh." Puck continued to call out practically in her ear as she poked him. Apparently he could go all night and he was enjoying himself too. Every time Rachel would tense up or move a little bit he'd just chuckle and just move on to poking a different spot on her body.

"Ra-"

"Noah Fucking Puckerman!" She growled before sitting up and turning her body to face him "I swear to Moses that if you don't stop that right now I will chop your baby makers off in your sleep and make sure that we never, ever, bring children as annoying as you into this planet!"

Puck furrowed his eyebrows and crossed his arms across his chest "Shit, that was intense baby. Kind of sexy." Rachel smacked him against the bare chest and he groaned "You should be a professional fighter baby, no lie, you could kick major ass." He said jokingly.

"Noah! I'm tired, I'm upset and I'm annoyed as fuck, just tell me what you want already." She practically begged.

He sighed and wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her back down onto the bed and pull her close enough until their foreheads are touching. "I'm sorry about before." He said honestly "I fucking love you so much and you know I get jealous sometimes, it's just my way of taking care of you. This audition means a lot to you or whatever and I'm not gonna get in your way just cause I think some jackass is trying to get into your pants." He said before kissing the tip of her nose gently "You're a star, baby."

Rachel smiled and kissed Puck gently before snuggling up to him "It's alright, I throw a bitch fit whenever I see a girl looking at you the wrong way so I guess it's understandable."

"Babe, I did not throw a bitch fit. I'm a badass, that's not my thing." He said with a scoff.

"Mhm, whatever you say badass." She said with a soft laugh before leaning in to kiss him.

Just as things were about to get a little more passionate, Puck pulled away and wrapped his arms around her "Sleep, I know you're tired. I'll make sure to wake you up early in the morning so I can show you just how badass I am."

Rachel grinned before nodding and closing her eyes "I love you, Noah."

"Love you too babe." He said before closing his own eyes.

Puck woke up suddenly and looked over to the clock on the night stand next to him. Six-thirty in the fucking morning. He couldn't believe he'd been waking up this early for the past two months of his life just to do training for a job that a fucking monkey could do. A job that made more money that he'd ever even thought he could make though. Sighing, he decided to try going back to sleep again. He had at least an hour before he actually had to get up and start getting ready so he might as well try to catch some much needed Z's right? He turned over and noticed Rachel had kicked the sheets off of her body. She'd been wearing his old sweatshirt from high school and a pair of white lacy underwear which showed completely now that the sweatshirt had ridden up and the sheets were off of her body. It didn't take much more than this sight to get him hard. Groaning quietly, Puck leaned in closer to her and ran his fingers along her thighs teasingly. Maybe he could get pussy while she was asleep.

"Mmmm Noah." He heard come from her lips suddenly before she shivered against him. As if that were some kind of invitation to do so, Puck took the liberty of reaching his hand into her panties. Rachel grinded up against Pucks length when his fingers touched her clit. Grinning, Puck rubbed it gently at first before moving onto a faster more aggressive speed.

"Oh god- yes!" She moaned as he continued his movements. When he stopped suddenly Rachel whimpered slightly and frowned. "Noah you can't just- AH yessss" She purred into his ear as he plunged two fingers into her wet folds and began pumping them in and out at a steady pace. Puck moved slightly so Rachel was on her back as he continued to pump in and out of her, now able to go deeper inside of her folds and hit her g-spot.

Had it not been for his mouth covering hers, she would have screamed at the feeling of his fingers hitting her on the exact spot that drove her insane "Oh Puck, so close" She moaned breathlessly. Puck leaned down and kissed her again, practically shoving his tongue down her throat, before twisting his fingers inside of her and using his thumb to rub her clit furiously again. "Yes! Right there- oh my!" Rachel stammered before she came hard against his fingers.

When she was completely finished he pulled his fingers out and smirked before putting his fingers into his mouth and licking her juices off himself. "Morning baby." He said with a grin before leaning down and kissing Rachel. Surprisingly she was the first one to shove her tongue into his mouth and he felt his cock twitch in his pants as she tasted herself in his mouth.

"Damn right it's a good morning. It's a great morning. It's a fantastic morning. It's a fucking a-" Before Rachel was even able to finish talking, she heard the familiar voice of Amelia calling her from her bedroom. Sighing Rachel sat up and frowned at Puck "I take it back, this morning sucks." She said stubbornly as she got out of the bed and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth quickly before rushing to Amelias room.

"Amelia you need to stop waking up like this." Rachel explained as she sat down on the edge of her daughters bed before the four year old clung onto her and frowned.

"But I keep having the bad dream."

Amelia had been complaining about the bad dream almost every day since Puck had started working so much. Even if she wouldn't tell her what the dreams were about, Rachel knew that they had to somehow be triggered to Puck not being around as much as he used to be. It was the only thing that really made sense anymore.

"Do you want to tell mommy about it?" Rachel asked hopefully.

Shaking her head Amelia yawned before looking back at Rachel. "Can I go back to sleep with you?"

Normally Puck was the one unable to deny Amelia of anything. She had this magic baby affect on people where she could just ask for something and it's hers in no time. The only person who wasn't affected by this whole thing was Rachel…most of the time.

Nodding her head softly, Rachel picked the little girl up in her arms and smiled "I actually have a little surprise for you." She said quietly as the little girl already started falling back to sleep in her arms. Knocking softly on the door Rachel opened it enough so that she could put her head in "You decent?" she asked teasingly as she watched Puck turn onto his back on the bed.

"When have I ever been decent?" He asked playfully before nodding.

"Daddy?" Amelias head suddenly snapped up when she heard the voice of her father and she smiled at Rachel "Is daddy really here?" She asked.

"Go check for yourself." She said before putting Amelia down and watching her practically run into the bedroom, grinning like it was Christmas or something.

"Daddy, you're here!" She jumped onto the bed and curled up into his arms with the sweetest smile that Rachel had ever seen on her face.

She watched as Puck and Amelia interacted for a while and suddenly felt overwhelmed. She was overwhelmed with happiness for one. For the longest time Rachel thought that her daughter was going to grow up fatherless and that she was going to spend the rest of her life alone, who wanted to be with a girl who already had a kid? She herself was still shocked when she realized how lucky she was to have Puck. Not many people found the love of their lives at seventeen. Then again she was overwhelmed with something she couldn't pinpoint. It was the same nagging feeling she'd had ever since she graduated college. She was too young for all of this wasn't she? This was when she was supposed to be enjoying life and going out and starting a career and dating guys and partying. This wasn't _supposed_ to be her life. But it was. And she'd be lying if she said she didn't love it but she'd be lying if she said she didn't feel like she was missing something too.

"Mommy lay down with us!" Amelia said in a tired voice as she rested her head on Pucks shoulder and used it as a pillow.

Smiling, Rachel walked over to the bed and laid down on the other side of Amelia before reaching her arm across the small childs waist and resting her hand on top of Pucks chest.

"I think I'm going to call about that audition today." Rachel said as soon as she was sure that Amelia had fallen asleep.

Puck nodded his head "You should, this is the chance of a lifetime baby." He reached up and stroked her cheek gently. "I know you want this even if you don't talk about it very much."

Rachel nodded before grabbing Pucks hand and bringing it to her lips, leaving soft and warm kisses all over his knuckles and the palm of his hand. This was going to be good for her, for all of them. Right?

Rachel sighed and closed her eyes as she curled up against her daughter and boyfriend. She knew that the odds of having everything were rare but fuck, she couldn't just go ahead and quit without even trying first.

**Remember to review!**


	2. Two

**A/N: Here's the second chapter to this story. I personally don't like it much because there's not much drama going on but I have to admit that the ending made me smile a little bit. Don't get too used to the whole happy thing going on though because next chapter is when things will really start to heat up a little(:**

**I don't own glee. So sad, so so sad.**

Puck was the first one to wake up again that morning. It had been two weeks since he'd started actually working normal hours at work and he'd spent his time trying to get used to the schedule that Rachel had set herself up to for the past two months. He'd get up in the morning, get Amelia ready for preschool, drop her off, go to work, use his lunch break to pick her up from school and drop her off at Quinns. Once he got out of work at seven he'd go pick Amelia up again and they'd spend the hour doing whatever she wanted, because he was still a sucker for her, until it was close to her bedtime and he had to get her home. Routines and schedules had never really been Pucks thing. He was a go with the flow kind of guy and he was used to sort of just letting things happen but if it meant that he got to see his kid more often then damnit, he'd make the change.

Puck watched with a smirk as his daughter tried to take a bite out of the slice of cheese pizza that was ten times bigger than her face. "Remember we don't tell your 'ma about this okay? She'll throw a bitch fit if she found out that I'm letting you eat this stuff for the second night in a row." Puck wasn't too fond of the idea of giving Amelia pizza either. He was completely capable of cooking, when he was growing up and his mom was always working he was the one that had to put food on the table for him and his little sister so he knew a thing or two, but Amelia insisted that they went to her favorite pizzeria and had dinner there. She used the whole 'But we never spend time together anymore' bit and he was defenseless.

"S'not like she's going to care." Amelia said with a mouthful of pizza.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, I taught you better than that." Puck said as he passed the little girl a napkin.

Amelia frowned slightly before swallowing and sighing "I said it's not like she's gonna care. Mommy is always singing now, she doesn't notice me anymore."

Puck was a little disturbed by her words. Not because they were true or anything, Amelia was the most important thing in the world to Rachel and anyone with eyes could see that, but because the young girl sitting in front of him didn't even seem to be hurt as she said those things. "Just cause mommy is busy trying to get a new job doesn't mean she doesn't care anymore, Milly."

"I know. Mommy loves me a lot." She said with a smile before she continued speaking "And you do too. And so does Uncle Kurt and Auntie Quinn and Uncle Finn, even if he is kinda silly." Puck smiled as she mentioned all of the people who loved her. She might not have her birth father around but she was loved by so many people that he knew she'd never miss it. "But none of you are ever around all the time. So I don't get noticed." She shrugged again before biting her pizza.

He didn't really like the sound of that. Amelia was already a daring little kid. When someone told her to turn left, she'd look at you for a second before laughing and turning to the right. She didn't take bullshit from anyone and she knew how to use her cuteness to her advantage. She was so much like Rachel that sometimes Puck wondered if they were the same person. He saw in like a movie or something that this chick would be haunted by her past and she had to call her seven year old version of herself her sister so people wouldn't find out. That would actually be pretty cool…Puck and Mini-Puck.

"Daddy, can we go now?" He snapped out of it when he heard Amelias voice and nodded. He was going to have to have a talk with Rachel about this whole attention thing because he didn't want Amelia growing up thinking that she could just get away with everything. She was right, she needed something more stable and whatever they had going on right now wasn't really it.

"So, mommy and I were talking last night and we realized it was almost someones birthday we just can't remember who." He said as he picked his daughter up in his arms and carried her towards the car.

"Uhm, hello?" She said as she raised her arms in the air and pointed at herself "I turn five whole years old this weekend! You gotta be kidding me daddy."

Puck chuckled at his overdramatic daughter and shook his head "Nope, no I'm pretty sure I'd remember my own daughters birthday…Maybe it's Uncle Kurts birthday? I mean he has a birthday coming up eventually right? Or maybe it was Uncle Finn…Nah Finns birthday isn't till October..Oh maybe its-"

"Me daddy! Trust me!" She was already getting frustrated at him and Puck was trying his hardest to hold back a laugh. "I think I know when I was born, I mean I was there too!"

Well he wasn't technically there when she was born, in fact he didn't even know that Rachel existed when Amelia was born but that was besides the point, plus she didn't really need to know that little bit of information just yet. "Really? I mean are you sure?" He asked as he sat her down in the car seat.

"Positive." She said with a nod "I mean, we've only been planning my birthday party for the past forever! Don't you remember? Costume theme, lots of ice cream cake, balloons? Mommy wanted you to dress up as a clown and you said no way in hell cause clowns were creepy as fu-"

Puck covered his daughters mouth as he finally let the laugh that he'd been holding in out "I remember, I remember!" He said as he continued to laugh a little bit. "Don't worry Mills, as long as you don't repeat what I say I'll try to remember your birthday, alright?"

"Okay daddy!" She said cheerfully as she leaned back into her car seat. She watched as her dad walked over to the drivers seat and grinned when she heard the song come on the car stereo. "I love this song!" She said as the song 'Popular' from Wicked started to play.

Rolling his eyes, Puck leaned into his seat and groaned "I see your moms been in my car again huh?"

Amelia giggled before nodding her head "We took it to get washed remember? She said your music was crap and I agree."

"Oh yeah? Well I'm gonna have to talk to your old 'ma about that one."

Amelia just giggled before continuing to sing along to the song while Puck wondered how his girlfriend was doing on her audition.

Rachel let out a deep breath as she heard her name be called out. She'd been sitting in a room for what felt like hours as she awaited for this moment. This whole audition would determine what the rest of her life was going to look like. If she got it or if she even felt like she impressed the director in the slightest bit then she knew she was going to continue this, she was going to make sure her dreams came true. If nothing happened then maybe it just wasn't meant to be. Maybe she was just born to live a life where she followed the same routines everyday and she'd let herself become one of those boring moms who never did anything with herself.

This had to work out.

"You're Rachel Berry?" A much older man, who in fact had some hair in spite of what Nathan had told her, asked as he looked her up and down.

"Y-yes?" She said as she tilted her head to the side and gave him a questioning look.

The man just started to laugh and shake his head, causing Rachel to look even more confused "You're adorable. King was right about everything he said about you, hopefully you can sing like you look." He said with a grin.

Rachel wasn't sure if she should be smiling but she did anyways figuring it was a good thing that he thought she was cute. "Thank you…I think? Anyways, I have a song ready if you-"

"No. I want to see how you can act on your toes so I've got a little something prepared for you instead." Rachel automatically tensed up. Oh shit. She wasn't prepared for this. She was supposed to come in here and know what she was doing and blow their minds away. This wasn't a part of her plan. "Don't worry, Berry." He said before grinning again "I just want you to read a few lines with our Melchior and if I think there's enough chemistry through your acting, I'll ask you to sing a few bars from The Word Of Your Body."

Rachel let out a deep breath and smiled before nodding. She could do that. If she got the role she'd have to spend the next year or so reciting lines with this person anyways so this was nothing. And she would make an impression and she would get to sing that song and damnit, she'd get this role because she was Rachel Berry and she was born to be a star. She allowed that cocky voice in her head, the one that sounded a lot like Puck, take over before speaking "Sounds good to me."

"Good." The man said before leaning back against his seat "Where's my Melchior?" He called out before gesturing for Rachel to grab a script then get on stage. She did as she was told and tried her hardest not to seem like a nervous wreck.

"Hi Rachel."

Rachel turned around and furrowed her eyebrows when she saw Nathan standing there in a blue suit with two microphones in his hand. He passed one to her and smirked, those damn adorable dimples made her warm inside everytime, before turning to the director.

"So which scene are we doing boss?" He asked.

Realization sunk into her suddenly and she gasped a little bit before smacking Nathan on the arm, catching the attention of both the actor and director. "You're playing Melchior?" A cocky grin appeared on his face as he rubbed his arm. "You told me that you were working for the director of the play!"

Just then the director laughed loudly while Nathan tried not to look as amused as he actually was "Yes." He said before taking a step towards her. "And technically, I do work for the director don't I?"

Rachel opened her mouth to say something but after a while of trying and failing, she just closed her mouth and nodded in defeat. Noah was going to kill her when he figured this one out. Not only was she supposed to be having sex on the stage but she'd have to be doing it with a guy who he knew he hated without even meeting.

"Kids, I'm loving the chemistry already but can we try to focus on the play here?" Both of them nodded before the older man smirked "Good, now open to page 14, scene one, I want the two of you to do the scene right after Melchior beats Wendla and she's trying to give him back his journal."

"But isn't that-" Nathan took the script from Rachel and opened it to the proper page before handing it to her.

"Yeah, it is. Don't worry, everyone who auditions has to do this scene. Boss over there isn't as creative as he makes himself out to be."

"You're lucky you're talented kid. Can we please get on with this already? I'm starting to lose my hair."

"Starting?"

Rachel just chuckled at the interaction and felt herself become more relaxed as time went by. Nathan was right, this was the most memorable scene of the play afterall. If they could pull this off together on the first try then this would be hers for sure. She looked up at him for a second before letting out a deep breath again and nodding her head. He just smiled at her before gesturing for her to begin.

"I can hear your heartbeat, Wendla."

The line reading was going amazing, better than even Rachel ever thought that it'd go for her. The more she read into it the more she felt herself becoming the character, the character who was in love with this gorgeous boy but couldn't admit it. She'd been in that position once or twice, it wasn't as hard as she thought it would be. And Nathan, oh he was amazing. The way that they were so comfortable around each other, doing a scene as personal as this, Rachel felt an adrenaline that she hadn't felt in forever.

"Oh, Melchi…I don't know,"

"No matter where I am, I hear it beating."

Rachel looked up into his eyes for a second before speaking "And I can hear yours."

Just as Rachel was about to pull away and end the scene, Nathan pulled her closer before kissing her full on the lips. Rachel was to shocked to react at first, she just stood there stiff as Nathan continued to do all of the work, before he poked her slightly on the side so the director wouldn't see and she finally got the point. This was for the sake of the scene, he was trying to help her. Rachel embraced him timidly, as Wendla would, and kissed him back softly but just as passionately.

They pulled apart when they heard a loud clapping. Rachel put her hand over her lips for a second while Nathan and the director spoke for a second.

"She's the best we've seen all day! I can't even describe how hot and passionate and real that was." The older man turned to Rachel suddenly and leaned over the desk he was sitting behind before slamming his hands on it "Please, please tell me you can sing. You don't even have to be amazing, just be good." He practically begged.

Rachel opened her mouth to say something but Nathan spoke before she got the chance "You'll see boss." He said with a grin before turning to Rachel, "You know the song, right Berry?" He asked curiously while reaching over and grabbing one of her hands. Rachel looked down at her small hand in his much larger one before looking back up at him and nodding.

"Of course I know the song." She smiled at him before Nathan turned to the band that was silently practicing on the stage behind them and gestured for them to begin the song.

"That's it." The director said as he stood up and made his way up to the stage as soon as the song was finished. "You, sweetheart, are our Wendla." He said with a grin as he grabbed the hand that Nathan wasn't holding onto and shook it. "Now if you'll come with me we can work out your contract and the way things go around here."

Rachel turned and smiled at Nathan as the older man pulled her away. She mouthed thank you to him before being pulled off into a different room offstage. Nathan just grinned and put his hands into the pockets of his Melchior costume as he started to whistle and walk away happily. You'd be happy too if you got to spend the next year and a half having sex on stage with a girl as gorgeous and talented as Rachel. He'd just hit the fucking jackpot.

Rachel practically skipped into the apartment later that night. She and Richard, it turned out that the old director actually had a name and it wasn't boss, got so caught up in talking and becoming acquainted that they lost complete track of time. He told her that she was a star, that being a part of this was going to put her on the map and that her life would never be the same after this. Rachel was finally beginning to feel as though that empty feeling inside of her was being filled with something and she was ecstatic about it.

She spotted Puck laying down on the couch, focused on some basketball game that was playing on the television. Smiling, Rachel jumped on top of her boyfriends lap "Fuck!" he yelled out before Rachel began kissing him heatedly on the lips. Rachel was kind of crazy sometimes, he totally knew that by now, but this? This wasn't normal. She only did shit like this when she was in a really good mood or when she wanted something. As of right now any of those two were really an option. He just sighed into the kiss and decided to milk it as much as he could for right now cause there was no way he wasn't gonna take advantage of the hot chick on top of him. She bit down roughly on his bottom lip before Puck laughed.

"Have a good day?"

Rachel giggled as she nodded her head excitedly. "Guess who's the star of a Broadway musical." She said in a sing-song voice.

"Shit!" He broke out into a grin before sitting up and pulling her into his arms "I knew it, baby. I knew you were going to be a fucking star." He said with a grin as he held her tighter against him.

"I know, baby." She pulled away and cupped his cheeks with her hands "Thank you so much for believing in me, Noah." She pressed a kiss to his lips "This is good. This is so so so good."

Puck nodded his head as he continued to kiss her, letting her take control of him this one night because she was so fucking hot when she was feeling this confident and he just wanted her to be happy. A happy Rachel was a horny Rachel right? "Rach," He moaned her name as he thought of a way to make this night even better for her, it was something that he was planning on bringing up sometime soon anyways but he couldn't wait anymore. He was about to pull away before she moved from kissing his lips to tracing kisses all along his jaw until she reached his ear which she nibbled on gently. He closed his eyes and let the noise come from the back of his throat as he felt her warm breath against his skin. He figured that what he had to say could wait a little while longer. Rachel should be hired for stuff like this like everyday.

Puck pulled Rachel against his chest as they both began to catch their breaths. "Baby, that was like the best sex we've ever had." He said still breathlessly "I mean, when you- and then when! Ugh, I fucking love you so much." He pressed a kiss to the top of her head as he heard Rachel giggle.

"I love you too." She murmured as she began rubbing lazy circles along his chest. "I'm going to have to resign from my jobs tomorrow since I start rehearsal next week anyways and we should probably put Amelia in some kind of afterschool care program now-"

"Wait, why would we do that?" He asked.

"Because, I'm going to be much busier the next few months and I don't really think it's fair that we leave her with Quinn all of the time." She tried to explain as she snuggled up to him slightly.

Puck thought about it for a second. For one it might be good to get her involved in some extra curricular activities from now so she could get used to being around other kids and not spend all of her time stuck in a house but on the other hand he thought about what she'd said earlier about not having any attention at home. He felt like such an asshole for not being around those last few weeks and he knew that the more Rachel spent time away from Amelia the worse she'd end up feeling too.

"Can we not talk about this now? I think I recall telling you that I never want to talk about the kid or Kurt in bed at some point in our relationship." He said as he wrapped both arms around her. He felt her nod her head against his chest and smirked "So how was the audition? I mean what'd they make you do and stuff."

"They made me rip my clothes off and sing on top of a chair." She said jokingly.

"S'hot. Can't wait to see that play. Too bad no one else will ever be able to see that but me."

"Uhm, Noah, you know there is some nudity involved in this play…" She sat up slightly and looked down at him.

Puck furrowed his eyebrows "How much nudity are we talkin' Rach?" He asked slowly as if he were afraid of what her answer would be.

"We watched the play together when it came to Ohio our senior year! You don't remember? It was our one year anniversary and you surprised me with tickets then we left the play and you couldn't stop talking about how 'kinda bitchin' and 'totally not gay' this musical was!"

Pucks eyes widened in terror as he realized what she was talking about "You're gonna be in the play with the boobs? What the fuck Rachel!"

"What do you mean what the fuck? Noah, I told you that I was auditioning for Spring Awakening, it isn't my fault that you didn't remember what the role required of me."

"Ah, fuck." He said as he closed his eyes and covered them with his hand. Rachel was smokin' and she had the awesomest rack he'd ever seen before but for her to be showing his goods off to all of Broadway? He sighed. "I guess I should probably pay more attention to the shit you tell me, huh?" He asked as he pulled her against him again.

"Yes, Noah that would be wise. After a while you'll come to realize that the shit I say isn't actually shit at all." And she was right too. Puck could grow as old as he wanted but he'd never actually let Rachel know that she was right even when she was. It was this constant battle that they had with each other but he'd rather spend the rest of his life arguing with her than just sitting around and letting her be right. He might be whipped but he wasn't a pussy either. Puck looked down at Rachel who had a soft smirk on her face and grinned, she was totally gonna love him in like two seconds.

"So, baby," He sat up on the bed, pulling her up with him and smiled "You know what would make this night a billion times better than it already is?" He asked.

Rachel tilted her head to the side and shrugged her shoulders "Nothing? I mean honestly Noah, I've got my dream role and my gorgeous, amazing, boyfriend naked next to me in bed. What else would I need right now?" She asked before Puck pressed a kiss to her cheek and turned to the side to grab something from the inside of the night stand next to him. "Noah?" She asked curiously before he came back up.

"I uhm, didn't really plan on doing this while we were sweating like pigs and naked in bed but let's face it baby, there's hardly ever a time when we're not doing the nasty." He said as he nudged her on the side and she let out a soft laugh because yeah, they were kind of addicted to each other in that sense. In all senses really, after all of these years she still couldn't get enough of him and sometimes even she had to stop and wonder what the hell it was about him that drove her so crazy. Then again, what about him didn't make her feel that way?

"But anyways, I've wanted to do this for a long time and I know you wanted it to be all romantic and shit but I've always been into giving you the truth and none of that sugar coated stuff and the truth is that the two of us are the real deal and I know it and I know that you know it but I kind of want the rest of the world to know it too." Puck pulled a small black box from behind him and held it up to Rachel. "So, will you make it official with me and be my woman?" He asked as he opened the small box and revealed a diamond ring.

Rachels jaw had dropped the moment she noticed the black box in his hands. Black boxes always meant one thing. Well two things; one, this was a really shitty joke and she was going to have to kick his ass in about five seconds or two, he was about to propose to her. She really hoped it was the second option because she did want to spend the rest of her life with Puck, inspite of her most recent actions, and she really wasn't in the mood to go to jail for murder tonight. She looked back up at him with teary eyes as he finished speaking.

"Oh…I-I uhm. Oh my god, Noah I don't." Rachel just shook her head and smiled at him as she tried to come up with the most appropriate words for the moment. "God, only you could come up with such a shitty but romantic proposal." She said with a laugh as she wiped a tear from her cheek.

Puck shrugged his shoulder "I'm a badass, what else were you expecting?" He asked before giving her a genuine smirk. "So does this mean that you'll marry me then? Cause if you don't want to it's totally cool, I could just put this away and-"

Rachel interrupted him with a passionate kiss. She wasn't going to let him even think about finishing that sentence. "Don't you dare do anything with my ring." She said after pulling away and grabbing the box from his hands with a smile on her face. "Noah this is gorgeous." She said as she took it out and inspected it.

"Here, let me see how it fits you." He said as he grabbed the ring from her and slipped it into her finger. "I wasn't really sure what size to get cause you have midget ass fingers but I really hope that this one fits." Puck smiled when he saw it on her hand. "Perfect." He pulled her hand up to his mouth and pressed a kiss onto the finger where the ring now rested perfectly.

"I love you so much." She said as she pulled his head towards hers for a kiss.

"I love you too, Mrs Puckerman." He said with a chuckle.

Rachel giggled and shifted until she was sitting on top of his lap. "I like the sound of that. Rachel Puckerman." She said as if testing it out. "What do you think?"

He grinned and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I think that might be the best fucking thing I've ever heard come out of your mouth before." It was the truth too. Nothing topped Rachel admitting to being his and now she finally was going to be.

They were well on their way to being the family that he'd always wanted. He wasn't going to just be the guy who was dating the girl with the daughter, Rachel and Amelia were going to officially be his family.

**NEXT CHAPTER: Amelia's fifth birthday, Rachels first rehearsal, and Puck meets Nathan.**

**Remember, the more you review the quicker I update(:**


	3. Three

**A/N: I know I promised you guys a little look into Rachels rehearsal with Nathan but the chapter wound up looking a little different than I'd intended so I'm sorry if you were looking forward to that but I think that you'll all be pleased enough with where this chapter is headed. Or not. Maybe you shouldn't be excited at all. I don't know. Haha XD anyways, this chapter is just based on Amelias birthday and the party that is thrown for her. **

**I still don't own glee. someday...**

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Ever since her first birthday it had been a tradition that Rachel wakes Amelia up by singing happy birthday and makes her whatever breakfast she wanted. Then, later on in the day, Puck would take her to the toy store and let her pick out whatever thing she wanted while Rachel and Quinn and Kurt helped her set up her birthday party. As much as she loved her father, the most exciting part of her birthday (aside from her presents cause she loved getting presents.) was that small moment she got to have alone with her mom. By the time she was three Milly would wake up at unholy hours in the morning with anticipation about the special moment she and her mom would share together and fake sleep until she heard her come into the room to 'surprise' her.

The little girl looked around her bedroom before sighing and looking back at her alarm clock. Her mom had been so late for everything lately and she was pretty good at dealing with it, Milly was pretty impatient but she figured that it'd all pay off when her birthday came along and she got to spend some time with her parents. But ever since Rachel started that job in Spring cleaning or whatever it was called, Amelia had begun to get a little frustrated. She'd get her ready for school and then Puck would pick her up after and she'd spend the rest of the day with Quinn who she loved but let's face it, she'd rather be with her parents. Normally she'd get picked up before dinner time so they'd all eat together but for the last two weeks she'd get picked up after her bedtime so she wouldn't even get to see them much at all. She crossed her arms and pouted before deciding she'd count to one hundred. If her mom wasn't there when she got to that number then she'd get up herself and celebrate on her own.

Rachel turned to her side and curled up into Puck, her fiancé, (she'd _never_ get tired of referring to him as that. Well you know, until she got to call him her husband anyways.) while letting out a content sigh. Saturdays were good. Saturdays meant no rehearsal, no singing lessons, no running around the town all day trying to get shit done, no having to wake up early to get Amelia ready for school. Saturdays were like a blessing from Moses or something.

Grinning suddenly, Rachel let her hand crawl slowly and teasingly up Pucks warm chest. She finally opened her eyes when he let out a soft growl and moved on to letting her lips kiss all around his chest.

"Mmmm best way to wake up ever." He was still obviously half asleep and Rachel just let out a chuckle before continuing to kiss the man she loved anywhere that she could reach. She moved up to his neck and pressed a kiss onto a spot of his skin before biting down onto it just hard enough to get a reaction from him. Puck groaned before Rachel smiled and ran her tongue over the now red spot.

"Babe, please tell me you already got the kid up cause if you keep going I'm not gonna be able to stop."

Rachel froze and furrowed her eyebrows. Got the kid up? What did any of this have to do with Amelia?

Oh. Shit.

Rachel sprang up from the bed suddenly and practically ran towards the bedroom across the hall. She felt like she could vomit right then and there. What kind of a person was she that she completely forgot about her own daughters birthday? She'd been really busy lately with the play and starting to plan the weeding out, since Kurt and Quinn insisted they began now because before you knew it it's been three years and you're still engaged, but that was no excuse to go and do something like this. She was going to hell. No she didn't even deserve to go to hell she deserved to live in some kind of a limbo where all she had was darkness and the memory of the day that she forgot her own childs birthday. Yeah, that's exactly what she deserved.

She tip-toed towards the room as silently as she could, although she wouldn't be surprised if the neighbors could hear her racing heartbeat, and reached over to unlock the door when she realized it was locked. Rachel furrowed her eyebrows and stared at it for a second before trying to open it again. Amelias door was never locked. It was a house rule that if she was going to have the door shut then it needed to be unlocked just in case something went wrong. Or you know, just in case she decided to completely forget the most important day of the year to her, yes Amelias birthday was more important to her than any other day in the year, and needed to get inside to sing to her before she figured out how terrible of a mother she was.

"Amelia?" Rachel called out as she knocked on the door "Amelia open this door. You know the rules, it's never supposed to be locked."

"No!" The little girl called out and Rachel felt her heart sink into her stomach as she could practically hear the tears in her daughters voice. She really fucked up this time. "You don't care about me and you didn't come sing to me. I'm gonna live in here forever and never ever come out."

She couldn't help but take a second to roll her eyes at the door. She must have gotten that over dramatic attitude from Kurt because she's never seen anyone throw a fit like her daughter (except for maybe herself…_shutup_.) Rachel knocked again this time frowning slightly. "Baby come on, you know that mommy cares about you so much. I just slept in a little late," And then woke up. And then started trying to seduce Puck. And then almost had sex with Puck before finally remembering what today was. "Please let me in and I'll sing to you now, okay?"

"No! I don't want you anymore!" Amelia called out again.

"The fuck is going on here?" Puck asked as he walked out of their bedroom and towards Rachel.

Rachel covered her face in her hands and shook her head. She was seriously going to be sick pretty soon. "God, I'm the worst mother on the planet Noah and now she won't even open the door for me. She hates me and I completely deserve it."

Puck frowned a little this time before grabbing both of Rachels hands and removing them from her face. He hated watching her beat herself up like this, especially over something that she had no control over. "Babe, it's alright. You aren't the worst mother on the planet, you just need to calm down alright?" He said soothingly as she rubbed small circles on her palms. "Let me try getting her out."

Rachel nodded slowly and stepped aside from the door to let Puck try to talk some sense into their daughter. She knew a part of what he said was right, it wasn't all her fault that this happened and she needed to calm down and try to handle the situation like an adult but she couldn't help but feel like the worlds biggest fuck up ever. No one forgot their own childs birthday.

"Mills? Can you open the door, please?" Puck asked as he knocked gently on the door.

A few seconds later the door began to open slowly. When Amelia looked up and noticed that it was really just her dad standing there she practically jumped into his embrace and hid her face in his neck.

Luckily Puck was quick enough to catch her, otherwise she might have fallen on her butt and well adding injury to insult did not make for a good birthday. He hugged his daughter when he felt warm tears touch his skin and sighed before looking over at Rachel who looked like she was about to cry herself. God his women were so overdramatic sometimes. "Hey pretty girl, happy birthday." He said softly into his daughters ear before she lifted her face from his neck and gave him a small smile.

"Thank you daddy." She said softly as Puck wiped the tears off of her cheeks. She turned slightly in Pucks arms and looked at Rachel with a small frown before turning back towards her dad and resting her head on his shoulder.

That look, whatever the fuck that look was, practically killed Rachel right then and there. She swallowed hard and watched as Puck soothed and talked to their daughter. That should have been her holding Amelia in her arms and kissing her forehead and telling her how much she loved her. Rachel took a step forward and ran her fingers through her little girls hair gently. "Happy birthday baby, you know mommy loves you right? I-I just woke up a little late, I'd never ever in a billion years forget your big day."

Amelia turned around again and looked Rachel up and down as if she could see through her or something. She didn't even care that a five year old practically just made her cry, as long as Amelia was happy again and knew that she didn't mean to do what she did Rachel was going to be happy. "It's okay mommy." Amelia said quietly before reaching her arms over to Rachel so that she could pick her up.

Rachel grabbed her and safely held onto her the same way Puck had been before closing her eyes and burying her face in her daughters dark curly locks of hair. She was going to spend the rest of her life feeling like shit for what happened today but at least Amelia had forgiven her and at least she was young enough to erase this from her memories if she wanted to. Besides, the party that they'd all been planning for like a month now was going to completely distract her from everything that had just happened.

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"You forgot? I met the kid five months ago and I didn't even forget." Josh, Kurts new boyfriend who everyone had absolutely loved and accepted into their group of friends, said to Rachel as he blew a couple of balloons up. Kurt nudged him on the stomach and gave him his bitch face before continuing to set up the party favors.

Quinn and Kurt had been planning Amelias birthdays since she was one. In fact it was the success of her first birthday that encouraged them to go into the planning industry in the first place. They did the majority of the work free of charge every year and every year still managed to buy her the best birthday presents. Last year Kurt got her a whole new wardrobe while Quinn bought her, her very first state of the art, one of a kind, tricycle. Rachel would insist on at least paying for the party but they'd threaten to not plan it at all if she was planning on paying for it. She loved her friends to death for this but sometimes they were just so hard headed.

"I know, I've just been so busy in rehearsal and with the whole wedding thing."

"Oh have you picked your colors out yet?" Kurt piped in. Rachel rolled her eyes at him. Sometimes it felt like he was more excited about the wedding than she was. They still had plenty of time, she didn't see why she had to plan a wedding now when her career had just started. She and Puck talked about it and they agreed that once Spring Awakening was back on the stage and rehearsals were over that they would then begin to do the serious planning. For now they were just going to enjoy being engaged to one another. Well you know, when Rachel had the time to anyways.

"As I was saying," Rachel said as she glared at her best friend. He just rolled his eyes and went back to what he was doing "I don't know how it slipped my mind, it just did. In fact a lot of things have been getting past me lately. I nearly walked out of the apartment to rehearsal in heels, I called Noah Puck the other day by accident and I dressed Amelia in her winter coat on Thursday for school when it was nearly a hudred degrees out there! I mean I know that I'm trying to juggle remembering everything from rehearsals with everything from my home life but that's just ridiculous, don't you think?"

Quinn nodded and rested her hand on Rachels shoulder "I think you just need to relax a little bit and stop thinking about everything so much. You have it all, Rach, I don't see why you're so stressed out."

Rachel shrugged "I don't either, and the more I try to calm down and relax the more uneasy I tend to feel. It's to the point where I even think I'm making myself sick." She said before moving on to setting the drinks and cups up on each table.

"Honey, sit down and have a margarita with me, that'll make all the pain go away." Kurt said as he raised his glass and took a large sip from it.

Rachel just chuckled and shook her head "Thanks but one of us need to be sober before the party even begins." She said as she continued to set things up. Rachel was just hoping that after tonight happens and the whole party thing blows over, she'll finally be able to relax and get her life together. Quinn was right, she had everything she ever wanted now and nothing but herself could really ruin it.

* * *

"This is fucking ridiculous. No fucking way am I going out there looking like this." Puck said from the inside of their bathroom.

Rachel just laughed and shook her head as she put the finishing touches on the smokey eye look that she was going for. Since it was Amelias costume party, she got to decide what her parents got to dress up as. Puck wanted to go as Mr and Mrs Smith but Rachel and Amelia just rolled their eyes and ignored him completely. He should have known better than to give the girls all of the power though because there he was, standing in the middle of the bathroom dressed up as fucking Aladdin. Sure he looked like a total badass no matter what he was wearing but he still didn't want to walk around looking like a total douche bag.

"Will you just come out of the bathroom already? You might not like your costume but I'm positive that you're going to love mine." Rachel said in a seductive tone which had Puck opening the bathroom door in a second and poking his head out to see.

If Puck was going to be Aladdin then of course, according to Amelia, Rachel had to be princess Jasmine. Puck had suspicions that this whole costume thing was completely Rachels doing but he couldn't really prove it so he wasn't going to try to fight it and start this big deal, especially not if Rachel was going to be dressing like _that_. He looked her up and down and gave her his signature smirk in approval. The image of Rachel in the blue and gold ensemble was definitely going straight to the spank bank.

"Shit babe, we're definitely keeping that outfit." He said without taking his eyes off of her.

Rachel just grinned and spun around to show off the backside of the outfit to which received a loud whistle from Puck. She giggled before walking over to the bathroom door and pushing it open.

"Noah, show me yours now!" She pouted when he pushed the door in the opposite direction so she couldn't get in.

"Fuck no."

"Noah! You have to get out of there eventually, there's no way you're missing out on our daughters birthday party just because you're too proud to walk around in an Aladdin costume!"

The two continued to try to push the door to their liking before a loud coughing stopped them. Rachel was the first to turn her attention to the little girl and started to laugh when she saw Amelia standing on top of their bed with her Dorothy costume on and her face covered in makeup. She put everything in the right place but the amount that she put on just had her looking like a clown.

Puck peaked out of the door next and noticed the same thing that Rachel had before chuckling. "Milly, what did you do to your face?" He asked in an amused tone of voice.

Amelia frowned and stomped her small feet on top of the bed "I was trying to save time so we can get to the presents faster but I did it all wrong." She said to her father, or well to the door her father was hiding behind, before turning to Rachel and giving her a sad face "Mommy can you fix it for me?" She asked innocently.

Rachel just laughed again and nodded before walking over to her daughter and grabbing her hand to help her from off of the bed. "Sure, but first I'm going to need to get you cleaned up which means _someone_ is going to have to get out of the bathroom."

"I take it back, she looks fine. You two go to the party and I'll just meet you up." Puck said in attempts to get rid of them. Maybe if they were gone he could make the costume a little more badass? Or he could find something else to wear. He would totally risk sleeping in the couch for one night just so he could show up in normal clothes to this party. There wasn't enough alcohol in the world to make this okay.

"Please daddy?" Amelia said in just about the sweetest, most heartbreaking tone of voice Puck had ever heard in his life. Fuck. Leave it to his kid to be the master of manipulating badasses. She could get Hitler to have fucking thanksgiving dinner with Anne Frank if she wanted to. The kid was like kryptonite.

He cursed a few words under his breath before opening the door and stepping out. Rachel and Amelia both looked up at him and he suddenly felt his whole upper body heat up a little bit. This was fucking embarrassing alright? What he didn't expect was the reactions he got from his girls. Amelia just smiled brightly and clapped her hands.

"He looks just like Aladdin doesn't he, mommy?" She said cheerfully before skipping into the bathroom to wash the makeup off of her face.

Rachel glanced into the bathroom to make sure Amelia wasn't paying attention before putting her arms around Pucks neck and practically forcing his lips down onto hers. The two battled with their tongues for a second before Rachel pulled away for some much needed air.

"We're definitely keeping this outfit." She said with an almost evil smirk before unbuttoning the vest that was hardly covering his own muscled chest. "Just wait until the after party, I might show you a ride on my magic carpet."

Puck groaned and closed his eyes as Rachel pressed another kiss onto his lips. Yeah, this whole Aladdin business might not be half as bad as he thought it was.

* * *

_'Happy birthday dear Amelia, happy birthday to you.'_

Of course Quinn, Rachel and Kurt all had to throw the rest of the guests off by perfectly harmonizing the last note of the song but it didn't take long before the whole crowd, eighty of their closest friends, co-workers, and family members, erupted into loud claps and cheers while Amelia blew the five large candles off of her cake.

"Mommy can we play with the sparklers now?" She asked eagerly while other kids surrounded her and practically bounced in anticipation. Had she known that they'd be this excited over two pink sparklers on top of a birthday cake, Rachel would have just purchased a few boxes of those and handed them out instead of working on this whole extravagant event with Kurt and Quinn.

The brunette nodded and handed the sparkler to Amelia with caution "You know you have to be careful right? If you hurt yourself with this it's going to really hurt and you don't want to hurt on your birthday do you?" She raised an eyebrow overdramatically before Amelia shook her head. "Okay, have fun sweetheart." She smiled as she watched the kids go off in their own direction to play.

Overall the whole party was a success though. The decorations looked amazing, the music was blaring, there wasn't one child who wasn't running around playing and there wasn't one adult who didn't look like they weren't having the time of their lives either. How Kurt and Quinn managed to do all of this on a daily basis was completely beyond her but she was so grateful to have them for things like this because otherwise it would have probably just been something simple like cutting a cake in their small apartment and Rachel knew that her baby girl deserved more than just simple.

"You make an exceptional Princess Jasmine."

Rachel turned around and laughed when she saw Nathan standing there dressed as a T-bird from grease while he held onto Samanthas hand. The little girl smiled and showed off her pink poodle skirt to Rachel.

"Well you both might just be the cutest pair around here." She leaned down and passed Samantha a goodie bag. "Why don't you go play with the other kids? I promise to take care of your dad for you."

Nathan raised an eyebrow to that but didn't resist the smirk that was on his face as he watched Rachel interact with his daughter. He knew she was good with kids but he'd never seen Samantha be as nice to a person as she was to her, well unless it was him anyways. It was part of the reason that he thought Rachel was just the perfect woman. But of course the perfect woman already had some jackass on her arm who thought he was good enough to take care of her. He didn't know much about his gorgeous co-stars fiancé but he knew enough to know that he wasn't good enough for her.

"So this is quite some party you have going on here." He said as he leaned slightly on the table beside them. "Amelia is lucky to have a parent who's so dedicated to making her birthday so special."

Rachel just smiled and took a long sip from her water. As she'd told Kurt earlier, she just wasn't in the mood to drink tonight. She was too stressed out and she knew that the minute she got a drink in her system she wasn't going to stop and eventually she'd get aggressive and loud and obnoxious and tonight was really just about Amelia. She didn't need any of that. "Thanks, actually my best friends are party planners so they figured this whole thing out and insisted that I sat back and just watched." She shrugged "Noah and I really just had to show up."

"Where is this Noah of yours anyways? I've heard so much about him but it might be nice to put a face to the name." He really just wanted to see if he could take the asshole. Maybe they could fight over Rachel. Girls liked that sometimes, right?

Rachel felt her stomach drop just a little bit. Okay so maybe she still hadn't mentioned to him that Nathan was her co-star. When would she have the time to anyways? Whenever they did have alone time anymore they were having sex or talking about getting married or discussing Amelia in some way. She kind of knew that there was really no excuse for that but she just couldn't tell him. She didn't want to imagine his reaction to the news.

"Actually I think he's a little busy right now so-" "Hey Rach," Rachel closed her eyes for a second as she felt Puck put his arms around her waist from behind and kiss her cheek. She could already practically feel the jealousy radiating from off of him. If he had really been interested in just saying hi he would have pulled her up against him and kissed her a little more roughly but this proved that he cared about what people around him, more specifically Nathan, thought.

She hated that she knew him so well by now.

"Hey sweetheart." She said as she rested her hands on top of his. "I was just catching up with a friend of mine here." She explained.

"Ah, you must be Noah right? I'm Nathan King, I work on Spring Awakening with Rachel?" He said as if he expected Puck to know who he was.

"Nathan? Aren't you the guy who helped Rach get the auditon?" He asked.

"Yeah actually, I heard her sing and I knew she needed to be a part of this." He looked at Rachel and smiled fondly at her. She wasn't able to do anything but smile sweetly back at him. God, those dimples. Just then she felt Puck tighten his embrace a little bit and her body reacted with a slight shiver as her back side pressed against his front. God she loved the feeling she got whenever she was in his arms. This was all so fucked up.

"Well I didn't know that you guys talked enough for her to invite you over tonight." Puck looked down at Rachel for a second before looking back at Nathan. "I'm glad you were able to make it."

Nathan furrowed her eyebrows "What are you talking about? We're together practically all day long. I mean, she is my co-star."

Rachel closed her eyes and squeezed onto Pucks hands gently while he just stared in disbelief at the man in front of him. Co-stars? He thought to himself for a second. "Will you excuse my while I steal away my fiancé for a second?" He asked without really waiting for a response and pulling Rachel towards the back of the large venue where they could get a little more privacy. "Co-star? What the fuck Rachel!"

She looked down and shook her head. "Noah, I'm so so sorry about that. We've been working together, yes but it's not that big of a deal. In fact it's so little of a deal that I didn't even feel the need to mention it to you."

"The hell it isn't a big deal!" He practically yelled "Rachel, you knew the minute I heard this guy got you the audition that I didn't like him. Did you see the way he looked at you? And I'm thinking you're not too innocent yourself considering the way you looked back."

"Don't you dare!" Rachel raised her voice slightly and put her hands on her hips "Don't you dare accuse me of doing anything immoral with that man over there because you fucking know that I would never, ever, look at someone with half as much love as I look at you." Well right now wasn't all that loving but the majority of the time Rachel looked at him it was obvious that she adored him.

Puck sighed and just shook his head at her. "Whatever, so maybe you don't look at us all the same but how the fuck would I not be suspicious about this?"

Rachel furrowed her eyebrows "He's my castmate Noah! Why would I invite him to a gathering revolved around our family if I were doing something wrong?"

"I don't know, why didn't you invite anyone else from your little fucking show?"

The two stared at each other for a while. Rachel felt herself unable to say anything else to him after that comment. It wasn't like she was doing anything wrong by having him there, she'd learned to love Nathan like a best friend loves another best friend. Whatever was going through Noahs head was completely wrong but he was right, there was no way to prove him otherwise. He wouldn't believe her if she said that Nathan was just her closest friend around the set but it was true, she didn't care for anyone else around there as much as she did for him.

"It isn't a big deal, Noah." She stood her ground on this one anyways because no matter what he was thinking, he was wrong and she wasn't going to let him just walk around assuming she's just going to let some random man swoop in and take her from him.

"Yeah, no big fucking deal." He said before storming away from her suddenly.

Rachel suddenly felt herself feeling the same way she'd felt that morning when she'd forgotten her daughters birthday. She felt helpless and just sick to her stomach. Frowning, Rachel made her way past all of the people until she managed to get outside of the whole building in general. She took a few deep breaths hoping it'd help calm her down but the smells around her just increased her nausea and before she knew what was happening she had her head practically inside of a trash can as she threw just about everything she'd eaten that day up. She was on the verge of breaking down into tears until she felt a soft cold hand press to her back.

"Rachel, are you alright?" Quinn asked softly as she combed the brunettes hair back as much as she could and held onto it.

She simply nodded before taking another few breaths and standing up straight. "I-I'm just stressed out I guess and I probably had a-a uhm, bad piece of cake or something because I'm in great fucking health and I'm just great." She said with a nod as she tried to keep herself from breaking out into tears right there.

Quinn looked at her for a second, she was pale and looked exhausted. "What about I tell Puck that you weren't feeling well and that I had to take you home? You look tired."

Rachel just nodded and stood in that spot as she waited for her best friend to come back. What was going on with her? She hadn't been a mess like this since…since she was a teenager and was dating Jesse. He made her a wreck the majority of the time. She remembered always wanting to cry and throw up and just always feeling tired. Then again she was pregnant without really knowing it at the time and therefore had an excuse for being so strange.

Shit. Wait a second.

"Rach? I got you some water and Puck said that he was going to be home as soon as everyone was gone which shouldn't be very long past about eleven." She explained as she passed the cold water bottle to Rachel.

The brunette just nodded her head before following Quinn into her car. Shit, what if that was wrong with her? No. No that wasn't possible, she'd gotten her period! Yeah, she got her period…fuck when was her last period? Rachel closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against the cool window of Quinns car. So maybe she hadn't had a period in a while but that could have meant a million things, right? She was just stressed out. Yeah, she was just stressed and she'd prove it too. There was no way that Rachel was pregnant now. Not when everything was supposed to be becoming perfect for her.

"Do you think we can pick something up really quickly, Q?" She asked kind of hesitantly after a while.

Quinn furrowed her eyebrows but nodded "Yeah sure, what do you want to get?"

"I need to buy a pregnancy test."

**Don't hate me for my cliffhanger (:**

**if you want to know the truth then you're going to have to review!**

**NEXT CHAPTER: Rachel finds out the truth about why she's been feeling so weird, Puck and Rachel have a talk, A real look into Rachels rehearsal and an old acquaintance comes into town.**


	4. Four

**A/N: This chapter is a little longer than the rest but it explains a lot about Rachels feelings at the moment and we get a little look into the relationship that she's built with Nathan too. Also, there's a certain old friend who makes an appearance and starts to shake things for Puck and Rachel up too. There's going to be a lot of mixed feelings because I haven't even decided whether or not this character is actually a bad person or not considering their situation at the time but eventually that whole thing will get sorted out. **

******Sooo I haven't really figured out how to have Puck find out about the pregnancy. Either Rachel could tell him or he could find the tests that are still hiding in their bathroom somehow. Or maybe someone could tell him by accident :o So I'd like to know how you guys would rather see it happening. Just leave it in your reviews and I'll continue to write based off of what you want to see!**

******And remember, I don't own glee /:**

******

* * *

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"D-do you want me to stay with you or something?" Quinn asked while glancing over to a very upset looking Rachel.

They've been sitting in the car in front of Rachels apartment building for the past fifteen minutes without really saying anything to each other. Quinn would have spoken up earlier if she weren't so terrified for her best friend. She knew how much Rachel didn't want something like this right now, she didn't need to tell her for Quinn to know that. But was this really such a bad thing? Quinn had watched Puck and Rachel raise Amelia and they both made amazing parents. They were out of school, they were living on their own and both made good enough money. What was so wrong with having another child? Bringing another person into this planet that would surely be loved and have everything they ever wanted? She wasn't going to say anything aloud because she didn't know what was going through Rachels head but the idea of being pregnant to Quinn seemed amazing.

Rachel on the other hand wasn't too fond of the idea of having another child. Not that she was pregnant because she was still convinced that this was just her overreacting. She was just making sure because you never really knew but she was positive that she wasn't. She couldn't be because having another child meant having to put her life on pause and having to step down from her role as Wendla sometime within the next four months. Having to deal with the hormones and the weight gain and the stress and the pressure and that was just her on her own. What if Amelia wasn't ready for a sibling? She already required so much attention from so many people. And what if this wasn't what Puck wanted? Twenty-minutes ago he was cornering her in their daughters birthday party and arguing with her. For all she knew he probably didn't even want to be with her anymore because of all of this. Four years ago she told herself that she wasn't going to hold him down. That if he ever seemed unhappy or upset at all in their relationship then she was going to just end everything and move on. She didn't want him to live a life that he didn't have to be living in but if she was pregnant then he'd feel like he needed to be there. Puck was just a good person like that, he'd continue to go about everything as if it was just fine and dandy just because she was carrying his child and she didn't want that for him. This was never supposed to be their lives.

She just shook her head and put the department store bag into her purse. "No, I'm fine. Thank you for everything though, Quinn. I-I'll call you tomorrow or something." She said as she opened the car door.

"No problem. I'd run into a drug store dressed up as a bumble bee for you any day," Quinn said with a soft laugh before looking at her hands on the steering wheel. "Rach," Rachel looked at Quinn suddenly "You know it's all going to be okay right? If anyone can handle something like this it's you."

Rachel just looked down at her feet for a second. Sometimes she thought that Quinn had too much faith in her. "I'm not so sure about that." She shook her head as she looked back up at her best friend. "But thank you anyways." With that she shut the car door and made her way up to her apartment. She always kind of thought that the second time she'd be in this situation it'd be happier. She'd be with Puck and they'd both be excited about the results and they'd spend time talking about names and arguing about whether they wanted a girl or a boy and Amelia would be a little older and excited. Instead she was in the same exact position that she was in the first time with her best friend picking a pregnancy test up for her and being completely alone to take it.

She took a deep breath before pulling the drug store bag out of her purse and heading towards the bathroom. She needed to know if she was just imagining all of this or if it really was true.

* * *

A gallon of water and four pregnancy tests later, Rachel found herself sitting in an oversized t-shirt on the tiled floor of her bathroom. She couldn't find the energy to do much else but cry and stare at the damned sticks in front of her, willing for them to change their results and lie to her just this once.

But they didn't. And according to all four of those tests in front of her, Rachel was in fact pregnant.

She rubbed the tears out of her eyes as soon as she heard the front door of her apartment open and looked down at the tests laid perfectly on the floor in front of her, still mocking her with those damn two pink lines. She picked them all up quickly, sticking them back in their boxes before looking around for a place to hide them. If she just threw them in the trash then there was a chance that Puck could find them and she wasn't sure if she wanted to tell him yet. Or if she'd tell him at all. She'd always been so against it but maybe this just wasn't the right time. Maybe she just wasn't meant to have a child right now. A soft knocking interrupted her thoughts.

"Rachel? Are you alright? Quinn told me you weren't feeling well."

Rachel got up from the floor and grabbed the tests quickly before shoving them back into the brown bag that she'd had them in before. Shit. What was she supposed to do now?

"Rachel?" Puck knocked again before turning the locked doorknob. "Rach, open the door." He called out as he continued to knock.

"Just give me a second!" She called out as she looked for a place to hide the bag. After realizing that there weren't many other options, Rachel opened the bottom cabinet under the sink and threw the bag all the way in the back behind bottles and boxes. She just had to hope that he wouldn't go looking in there until she could figure out something else to do with the bag another time. She looked up at herself in the mirror and frowned slightly. Thankfully Puck already thought she was sick because she looked like shit as of that moment. Her face was pale but her eyes were red and puffy from the tears she'd been shedding for the past hour or so and she just looked exhausted and weak.

"Where's Amelia?" Rachel asked as she opened the door to the bathroom and stepped out, avoiding eye contact with Puck.

He took in her appearance and frowned. Quinn wasn't lying when she said that Rachel looked really beat up when she found her outside. He wanted to go to her sooner and see if she was alright but someone needed to stay at the party and make sure everything was going fine. Besides, he was still pissed off about the whole Nathan thing that happened. She'd lied to him. He might have been fine with Nathan being her co-star if she'd told him in the first place that they were working together. Puck was a jealous dude sometimes, he didn't go as far as to beat anyone up if they just looked at Rachel (his girl was hot, he knew that) but this guy, Puck just couldn't shake the bad fucking vibe that his guy gave him. He knew there was nothing that he could do about it. He very well couldn't just tell Rachel not to go on with the show or anything, this show was her life now, but it would have been nice to be reassured about it a little. She was spending all of this time with a man who Puck knew for a fact had ulterior motives and he didn't know what to do about it. What if Rachel realized she was in love with this guy? And then she took the kid and just left him for someone who had more in common with her and who she liked better? And then Amelia started calling him daddy and they got married and had kids and lived the life that he and Rachel were meant to share? He just didn't want to lose her. Especially not to some douche bag who spent all his time singing show tunes.

"She fell asleep in the car so I just took her to her room." Puck stepped up to Rachel and lifted her chin so that he could see her face. "Shit Rach, do you need me to take you to a doctor or something? You seriously do-"

"No." She said before turning away from him and walking over to their bed. She laid down and pulled the covers over her body before turning the light on the night stand next to her side off. "I just want to sleep it off," She said weakly as she made herself comfortable. "Unless you've got a problem with that." It was meant to be one of those comments that you make under your breath but she wound up saying it louder than expected.

Puck sighed before sitting down next to her on his side of the bed. "I guess I deserved that." He said after a second of just watching her try to fall asleep. "But you shouldn't have lied to me. I shouldn't have reacted like that but fuck Rach, what the hell would you have done?"

"I wouldn't have cared because I would trust that you'd stay loyal to me and not be stupid enough to allow some person who doesn't even matter to ruin what took us four years to build." She said before turning away from him and closing her eyes once again. "Can we not talk about this? I'm exhausted."

"Rachel." Puck said in a sigh as he looked up at the ceiling. "Rach, this isn't about that. This is about the fact that you didn't tell me."

"Well you didn't ask." She replied without looking at him.

"Why are you being so fucking complicated lately? One second you're happy and all over me and fucking hot but the next you're all sad or pissed off about nothing at all."

Rachel groaned before kicking the sheets off from her body. "That's it." She got up from the bed and went over to their closet before reappearing again with sheets and an extra pillow.

"Rach, what are you doing? You're not sleeping on the couch."

Rachel let out a loud laugh from the living room before making her way back to the bedroom. "Oh I know I'm not, you are. If you aren't going to shut the fuck up and let me sleep then you can go talk to yourself in the living room." She stood by the door and crossed her arms over her chest as if she were holding herself up. "Noah, please. I know you want to talk about this but I'm just so tired and I don't feel well right now and I'm really not in the mood to yell at you."

Puck made his way over to Rachel and grabbed onto both of her hands. "Then don't yell at me Rachel! Tell me what the fuck your problem is."

She looked up at him for a second and opened her mouth to say something but just closed it. What was she going to tell him that he impregnated her and she didn't really know if she wanted to go through with it or not? She just wanted to figure what she wanted out before she told him. She knew she was being insanely selfish at this point but she couldn't help it. "Sorry." She said as she looked down at her hands in his. "I just really haven't been feeling well and with the show and everything, it's just stressful."

He knew where Amelia got it from suddenly. He pulled Rachel into his arms and pressed a kiss onto the top of her head when he felt her relax in his embrace. There was no possible way for him to resist Rachel, not when she looked so small and innocent and tired. He knew they had to talk about this and he wasn't about to let it go but his girl really was tired and he figured he could wait a day. God, he really had turned into a pussy.

"Come on," He said as he pulled her back into bed and laid down next to her so that she could curl up into his side. He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms securely around her body before chuckling. "Were you seriously about to kick me out of my own room?"

"Our room and yes so shut up before I really do kick you out."

Puck just chuckled again and tightened his hold on her before relaxing slightly. He figured that if stress was what was making her so fucking crazy then he didn't want to stress her out anymore than she already was. She could save all that crazy for Nathan. The thought of that actually made him kind of happy. He could totally put up with Rachel working with that douche bag as long as she was driving him half as crazy as she's been driving everyone at home recently.

Rachel wrapped one arm around Puck and let her other hand rest on her stomach before closing her eyes and falling asleep. She figured that whatever problems they had could wait until tomorrow. Hell they had nine whole months to figure this mess out.

* * *

Over the next two weeks Rachel didn't find herself feeling much better. As a matter of fact the sickness only increased which only caused Pucks concern over her to increase. She'd say that her stomach was feeling weird and he'd start asking her all of these questions and trying to take care of her which she loved about him because it showed that as much of a tough guy as Puck was, he was her big softy no matter what. But recently she'd been waking up just to vomit. She knew that it was normal, lord knew how bad the morning sickness was when she was pregnant with Amelia, but Puck wasn't used to seeing Rachel so helpless.

"I think you should see a doctor." He said one morning as he held her hair back for her. And that was when Rachel really started to panic. Not because she was afraid of seeing a doctor or anything, in fact she probably needed to see a doctor sometime soon to make sure everything was alright but she was still kind of hoping that none of this was real. That all of this was just her going crazy and all of those tests were wrong and this whole not being able to smell oranges or meat or anything involving vanilla was just her body changing for some strange reason. But Puck would want to be there when she saw the doctor and he'd want to be a part of the whole process because he cared and he wanted to make sure she was alright. Then he'd figure out the truth and Rachel still hadn't accepted the truth, she didn't want him worrying until she was able to admit it to herself at least.

She walked into the theater one day with a fake smile plastered on her face. Rachel was the master of faking happiness and it wasn't really all that hard to do when your job is to play a girl who gets pregnant by accident. Story of her life much? Wow, it was kind of pathetic to admit that. Maybe she needed to learn how to close her legs or something. Or how to use birth control. She was on the pill but she was terrible at remembering to take it and Puck always loved to go at it without condoms because it 'made him feel closer to her since there was nothing between them.' She had to admit that it was ten times better than when they did use condoms but when stuff like this happened she wished they had never even had sex at all. Sex sucks.

"Hey, Berry." Nathan said as he passed her a cup of tazo green tea from starbucks. She grinned at him appreciatively as she took the cup from his hand and sipped it cautiously. He watched with a smirk on his face as she did the same thing that she'd been doing for the past month or so. Ever since they took a lunch break together and she told him that her favorite drink from starbucks was the teas, which he mocked her for because _she would_ only drink tea from a coffee shop, he'd been bringing them to her every morning especially since he noticed how sick she'd been looking. Not bad, Rachel wasn't capable of looking bad, but recently she'd lost some of her energy. She couldn't get through the Totally Fucked number without needing to stop at least once to take a breath and he thinks that he heard her throwing up in the bathroom a couple of times this past week. "So how are you feeling?" He asked curiously.

She looked up at him and furrowed her eyebrows "Fine?" She said with a nervous chuckle before sipping on her drink again. "I'm perfectly fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

He shrugged and decided to play along "Don't know, you've just been acting a little weird lately and now that rehearsals are coming to an end I just wanted to make sure you were okay." He watched as she looked down at her lap and he raised his hand to brush a few strands of hair away from her face "Plus I really care about you." He let his thumb linger on her cheek as she raised her head and looked back at him with those dark brown eyes that he could spend the rest of his life staring into.

"Hey Rachel? Richard wants to go over the first number in about five minutes so get ready for that." Called one of the stage hands from the other room.

Rachel turned from Jesse and let out a deep breath that she hadn't even realized she was holding in. Why was it that whenever he was around she completely forgot about her home problems? Maybe Puck was right. Maybe he had been trying to put the moves on her so that he could take her away from her family but Rachel would never fall for it. It was just nice to have a friend who didn't know everything about her. Who wasn't obsessed with protecting her just because she got her heart broken by Jesse or because she had a child at sixteen. Nathan was just her friend, her insanely good looking friend, and she loved it.

The whole play looked amazing as of right now. Although they had yet to put all of the pieces together, the choreographers and voice coaches and the director had put so much effort into making sure that all of the songs and scenes that they did work on were completely flawless. The only thing that she really had to complain about was the amount of times that Richard insisted they worked on the Totally Fucked number. Thankfully this show didn't consist of a lot of dancing around for Rachels character but this one number had her so exhausted by the end of it. She knew that if she hadn't been with child then she would have had no problem doing all of these things but when walking up a stairs had her wanting to take a nap, doing something like this was a bit of a problem.

"Again! You guys look sloppy!" He yelled out from his spot in the audience. They had just moved to working in the actual theater this week and Richard was eager to have everything look flawless before the show opened.

By the end of the song Rachel looked ten times more tired than everyone else on the stage. Nathan was watching her with concerned eyes ever since the music stopped and when Richard called it a day for all of them, Nathan followed the brunette to her dressing room and watched as Rachel practically swallowed a water bottle whole. He walked up to her and put his hand on her back, rubbing small circles on it as she tried catching her breath.

Rachel was aware of him watching her the whole time but she couldn't bring herself to care. She was too tired to do anything but sit there and drink her water. She leaned against him slightly and rested her head on his shoulder before closing her eyes for a second.

"So how far along are you?" He asked suddenly.

Rachels head snapped up at that. "W-what? I don't know what you're talking about."

He rolled his eyes and pulled her back into his arms so that she could rest her head on his shoulder again "Please, I've been around enough pregnant women in my life to know the signs. You're tired all the time, I've been hearing you throw up a lot lately, you're moody and the fact that you were so quick to deny it tells me that I'm only right."

"I-I" Rachel didn't know how to respond. No one was supposed to know, especially not anyone from the show. She looked up at him after a second with tears in her eyes "Please, please don't tell anyone Nathan. Please, this show is the best thing that's happened to me in a while and I just want to wait until after opening night to let everyone know."

Nathan just shushed her and nodded his head while he let her cry against his chest. "Have you told anyone?" He was assuming not because as much as he hated her boyfriend he knew that he would never let her be as stressed out or look as unhealthy as she did right then.

"No." She whispered into his chest. "I found out about two weeks ago and I still haven't really accepted it myself. I just didn't picture myself getting pregnant again until after being married for a while." Rachel sat up straight and wiped the tears from her cheeks "I'm going to have to quit the show." She said before looking down at her feet.

"Yeah." He said reluctantly as he watched Rachel practically fall apart in front of him. He felt terrible for her all of a sudden. He couldn't imagine having to leave something that he loved so much after working so hard to get it. It wasn't fair but she couldn't really help it. Well it was half her fault that she got pregnant and all but she had no choice now. She was going to have to quit the show at some point. "You know, you should tell him." Nathan said suddenly.

Rachel frowned slightly before nodding her head "Yeah, I know."

* * *

Puck was out of work early that day and a little surprised to find that Rachel wasn't home yet. As rehearsals progressed she'd been able to go home earlier and earlier lately but he figured they were just working on something important or whatever. See? He could totally be sensible and whatever. Besides, he was kind of glad that she was getting out and doing a little work. Lately all she'd do when she got home was sleep. He figured she must be beat up from all of those rehearsals and whatever but she was Rachel Fucking Berry and sometimes none of it made any real sense. She had enough energy to keep New York going all on her own but recently she's been…almost normal. It was just kind of scary.

"I'm gonna make mommy a get better card." Amelia said before skipping into her room happily. Puck didn't let Amelia go around Rachel much just in case whatever she had was contagious but the little girl had been dying to do something that might make her feel better ever since she realized that something was wrong.

"Okay just make sure you keep your door open kid." He called out before leaning into the couch and turning the television on. He was going to spend the rest of the night just relaxing and hopefully not having to wake up at three in the morning to hold Rachels hair back as she threw up or just laying awake in bed to make sure that she was alright. Normally he wouldn't make such a big deal about people being sick but this was Rachel. He'd never seen Rachel do more than cough a few times in the last four years that they'd been together so all of this was beginning to creep him the fuck out. Hopefully it'd just pass and things would go back to normal though.

About an hour later he heard a knock on the front door. Furrowing his eyebrows he stood up to go get it before Amelia ran past him, practically knocking him down on the way. "I'll get it!" She said cheerfully before opening the door. Puck rolled his eyes because as much as he and Rachel tried to teach Amelia that opening the door without anyone being with her was a bad thing, she still continued to do it. He was going to have to start becoming stricter with her about this whole safety thing because who knew if some kind of a stalker or killer or something decided to just show up and try to hurt her? He would have never thought of these things before but ever since Rachel came into his life this whole protective father thing kicked in and he'd become this person who he barely even knew he could be. But fuck it cause he wasn't about to let anything happen to his kid.

"Who are you?" The little girl asked curiously as she looked up at the woman standing behind the door.

The woman just smiled and crouched down and smiled at Amelia sweetly before patting her on the head. "Hey there, Amelia. Is your mommy or daddy home?" She asked slowly as if Amelia were some kind of a baby or something.

Crossing her arms and huffing slightly Amelia moved from the womans touch and furrowed her eyebrows "Do you talk to everyone like that? Gosh, I'm not a baby. And how do you know my mommy and daddy?"

The woman just sighed and stood up straight again. "I'm an old friend okay? Look, can you just tell me where your folks are? I'm really not up for this shit right now it's been a really, really long day and I- Puckerman?" The woman broke out into a grin suddenly as she pushed past Amelia and went over to hug Puck.

"Santana? The fuck are you doing here?" He asked as he awkwardly hugged her back.

Santana just pulled back and sighed as she looked at Pucks face carefully. "You look good Puck, so damn good." She said with a nod as she brushed his cheek with her hand before pulling away from him completely and looking around the apartment. "And this place? I mean I heard that you and Rachel had been doing good for yourselves but this is great." She turned back at him and smiled.

Puck just watched curiously as Santana continued to compliment him and his life. He knew she had to want something because in all of the years that he'd known Santana Lopez, he had never known her to be generous unless she really wanted something. "Thanks." He said before walking up to the door next to Amelia and closing it before picking his daughter up in his arms.

"What is she doing here?" The little girl whispered curiously into Pucks ear.

He shook his head and shrugged "I have no idea."

"C-can we talk alone? I've had a long day and I just need to talk to someone." Puck took in the upset look on Santanas face and frowned slightly. Something was wrong.

He put Amelia down and looked at her for a second "How about you go get ready for bed and I'll be in your room in about twenty minutes to tuck you in, okay?" He said before Amelia just nodded and looked back at the woman she didn't recognize.

"I hope your day gets better." She said with a shrug before going back into her bedroom.

Santana just let out a laugh and shook her head "She's cute."

Puck smirked and nodded "Yeah, I don't know what I'd do without that kid." Puck felt like a total pussy whenever he talked about Amelia because even he could feel the admiration and pride coming from him. He turned to Santana and gestured towards the couch. "Well, what'd you need to talk about? Are you okay?"

She sat down next to him "Yeah I mean I'm good now anyways," She looked up at him with tears in her eyes "I'm sorry. I didn't really have anywhere else to go at the time. I was visiting my boyfriend for the next week and I was staying with him in Brooklyn but we got into this huge fight and I just left."

He furrowed his eyebrows and leaned into the couch slightly. "Must've been one hell of a fight if he got you to run away." He smirked slightly and nudged Santanas side. Truth be told, he never really thought about Santana at all. Out of all of the old gleeks or friends he had the least amount of trouble with letting go of her. She was always mean to Rachel and after the two of them hooked up and Rachel became friends with Quinn, Santana kind of kept away from them. He figured that if she didn't care then why should he? Sure at some point in his life he considered her great lay but she was always a bitch. Puck didn't really know why she would even come to them when she needed help but when he noticed her wince in pain after he nudged her on the side he knew that he was going to help her.

"Sorry, just…just a little sore." She said as she gently rubbed her side.

Puck sat up and frowned. Something wasn't right here. "Why would you be sore there?" He asked.

She just looked down and away from his eyes before lifting her top up slightly revealing a huge black and blue bruise along her side. How had something like this happened to her? She was supposed to be a successful lawyer at some point in her life. She'd been doing good in college and was well on her way to having everything she ever wanted until she met her boyfriend. He made her isolate herself from the rest of the world without even realizing it. She hadn't even spoken to Brittany in nearly a year because he didn't really like her. She'd dedicated so much time on this boy and the one time she decides to do something for herself, she went out with a few friends from work one night and came home smelling like alcohol, he went crazy. Ever since then she's been hiding bruises because she knew she probably wouldn't do any better than him.

"Shit," Puck whispered as he took a closer look at the bruise on her tanned skin. What was he supposed to say about that? He might not have been close to Santana lately but fuck, it wasn't cool to hit chicks. Sure they could be frustrating and Moses knew that Santana needed to be put in her place but not like _that. _No one deserved something like that.

She put her shirt back down slowly and continued to look down at the material of the couch. "Well yeah, that's why I'm really here. I'd go to Quinn or Kurt but I don't really knew what they're up to and Tina told me that you and Rachel were living here and that I should visit. I just have nowhere else to go."

Puck sighed. Fuck. What was he supposed to do? Throw her out into the streets? He couldn't do something like that. Not when she was so hurt and helpless. He couldn't risk letting her go back to that asshole who turned the strong and independent Santana into this car wreck that he was looking at right now. In fact, if he knew that Rachel wouldn't kill him for it he'd go over there right now and give the guy a taste of his own medicine. But his friend was upset and she obviously needed someone at the moment so he was going to be there as much as he could be because fuck, this shit was just too messed up for anyone to have to deal with.

* * *

Somehow, Nathan had convinced Rachel to visit a doctor. She'd been dreading the whole idea of actually having this confirmed by a professional for the past two weeks but she knew he was right, she had to make sure that this child she was carrying was healthy and safe. Luckily, and luckily being put in the most sarcastic of ways, there was an opening for that very afternoon and he insisted that she took it which she of course did on the condition that he would go with her. He was the one who suggested the whole thing and Rachel honestly didn't want to be alone for this appointment. She knew that she should have called Quinn or Kurt or even Finn but she just didn't want to risk anyone telling Puck just in case she couldn't go through with this and she knew that Nathan would never tell Puck about any of this.

The appointments brought too many memories back for Rachel. Some painful, like when she first found out she was pregnant with Amelia and had to figure out what she was going to do on her own. She knew she could never get rid of something that was living inside of her, she couldn't even eat eggs how was she ever expected to abort a child? But in the back of her mind she knew that adoption was never going to work out. She was all for faking it at the time though. That was until she got to hold her baby in her arms. Which led to anxiety. What would having Pucks child be like? She'd never really dared to think of what having another baby would do for her because she knew that the second she'd consider it and that the second she pictured a hazel eyed, olive skinned, dark haired baby in her arms she wasn't going to be able to think of anything else but now that she knew that the chances of her having one soon were high she couldn't help but let her mind wonder. But the most prominent of all of these emotions was definitely fear. She was scared shitless of what happens after the doctors appointment. The morning sickness, the having to tell Puck, the mood swings, the cravings, the weight gain, what if she couldn't handle it again? It was hard enough the first time when she had to give up her youth but now she'd have to give up her dream too?

But then she heard her child's heartbeat for the first time ever and she thought, fuck it. She was going to have a baby with Puck. They made this amazing heartbeat possible together and she knew that whatever happened next didn't matter. He wanted to marry her anyways and they were already living together. Rachel knew what it was like to deal with an infant and there was no doubt in her mind that Puck was going to make an amazing father to their child. Amelia would love the idea of having a baby brother or sister to help raise and teach things to and Rachel? Rachel suddenly couldn't wait to feel her baby kick for the first time or to hold her child in her arms and be able to sing to it and watch it sleep and just be there for everything. She hadn't really known it before but now she was positive, this was one of the best things ever. Spring awakening and Broadway was always going to be there but this feeling that she had as she heard the quick fluttering surround her was irreplaceable.

She walked up to her apartment door with a smirk on her face and a bag full of saltines and the beer that she knew Puck loved but never really drank because she was more of a corona kind of girl. It wasn't like she could drink anymore anyways so he should be able to have whatever beer it was that he wanted around the house from now on. And inside of her purse she had the very first picture, so to speak, of their baby. Along with convincing her to see a doctor, Nathan also convinced Rachel to tell Puck. What did he see so bad in Nathan? He was such an amazing person. She opened the door before hearing Puck speaking and smiling. He was probably on the phone or talking to Amelia or something. Suddenly she heard another voice, a female who couldn't possibly be Amelia, speaking back at him. Rachel walked towards the direction of the voices before taking in the view before her.

Puck really didn't know what to do with crying chicks. Whenever Rachel got a little over emotional he'd just kiss her to get her to shut up. With Amelia it was as simple as offering to take her to the park or just holding her for a little while and singing to her until she just felt better or fell asleep. So with Santana he figured he could do the next best thing. He pulled her into his arms and let her cry into his chest. It was kind of awkward for the both of them for a little while before he felt her relax and sob into his chest. He kind of just soothed her and ran his fingers through her dark hair while he waited for her to just let it all out. In no way had he noticed when the two of them shifted into a position where he was laying on the couch with her practically on top of him and even less had he noticed the sound of the front door opening. So he was kind of fucked when Rachel walked in and caught Puck with his ex-girlfriend on top of him.

She stared for a second with wide eyes as Santana quickly got off of Puck and stood up.

"Hi Rachel," The Latina said as she approached Rachel a little cautiously. "How are you? It's been so long."

Her attention finally turned to the girl in front of her and she frowned, unable to find the specific words that could describe how she felt right now so she simply settled for upset. She was sad and angry and disappointed and the whole good mood that she'd just been in? Yeah it appears that moods like that fade away when you catch the father of your unborn child with a girl on top of him.

"I should have learned the first time." She said under her breath before dropping the bag onto the floor without a care and shoving past Santana towards her bedroom.

Puck stood up then and decided to take some charge. He'd kind of been hoping that Rachel would wait until Santana told her story and explained herself before throwing a complete bitch fit but the look on her face right before she spoke just fucking hurt him so bad. He turned to Santana and sighed "I should go talk to her. There's a pillow and comforter right there," He gestured towards the seat by the hallway that led to the bedroom before continuing "If you really need anything ask. Goodnight Lopez." He said before rushing towards the bedroom and shutting the door behind him.

Santana looked around the living room and let out a deep breath before looking back in the direction that Puck had gone towards. She couldn't help but wonder what it'd be like if instead of Rachel it had been her living this life with him. She'd never really been the commitment type of girl but for Puck she was beginning to think she could reconsider that. He definitely wasn't the worst she could ever do, in fact he would be the best. He could love her and treat her like no one else had since the last time she dated him. They could lay with each other like they'd just been doing every night. She smirked before grabbing the pillow and comforter from the chair. She was going to make him hers again.

"Rachel it wasn't what it looked like." Puck said as he stood by the door and watched as Rachel threw on a pair of sweatpants and a black tank top.

"Of course it wasn't." She felt the tears in her eyes but forced herself not to let Puck see them. She didn't want to be vulnerable around him, especially not right now when she really just needed to be strong. "The same way it wasn't what it looked like when I walked in on Jesse fucking some other whore too, right? It definitely was not what it looked like then either, was it?"

"No, that was him being an asshole and thinking he could get away with being a dumbass. This was me trying to be a good fucking person." Puck frowned when Rachel just shook her head and moved onto the bed. Before she got the chance to make herself comfortable, Puck crouched down on the bed by her side and put two fingers under her chin, forcing her to look at him. "Rachel, listen to me. She was visiting here with her boyfriend and they got into a fight so this was the only place she knew to go." He explained with a pleading look on his face.

Rachel looked at him for a second and thought about it. Well it made sense as far as excuses as to why she was even there went but still, something about it just didn't make sense. "Why couldn't she go to Quinn or Kurts? And why the fuck were you guys practically spooning on the couch? Is that how you're going to behave with all of our house guests? Because if it is then you can forget about me ever inviting my mother to spend a week with us."

Puck just laughed at that and shook his head. He actually wouldn't mind a night alone on the couch with Rachels mom but he wasn't enough of a dumbass to say that out loud so he was going to just answer the rest of her questions. "I don't know Rachel, I think something about being with us made her feel safer? Plus she mentioned something about not really knowing what Quinn or Kurt were up to, we were the only connection she had in New York. And I was trying to comfort her." Rachel rolled her eyes at that and Puck could tell she was about to call bullshit on him but he started to speak again before she even had the chance. "Rachel, he beats the shit out of her and it's like really bad. She has these huge bruises on her stomach and thighs and he does it in places where he knows that she could cover them up." She just stared at him wide eyed as he spoke and he could only imagine that the look she was giving him now had to be similar to the one he'd given Santana earlier. "We can't just throw her out and let her go back to him, what the fuck kind of people would that make us? It's just for a week and then she'll be back in Ohio and everything will go back to normal."

Rachel looked down and sighed. "Okay." She whispered before feeling him sit up on the bed and pull her into a hug. She felt terrible about what was going on with Santana, she might not be her biggest fan but no one really deserved that. Still a part of her wished that she would go stay with Quinn or in a hotel or something that wasn't her home. It wasn't that Rachel minded having people there, especially not if they need help like Santana did, it's just that this wasn't the best timing for that. "But I'm not too sure about the whole things going back to normal part."

"What? Why not? Rachel, this isn't going to change anything. Sure Santana's my ex and she might have tried to ruin high school for you but we're all adults and that shit is all in the past." He said as he held onto her hands and rubbed circles around her knuckles.

This time Rachel just chuckled because he really had no idea what she was talking about. "No, Noah I know all of these things. Except for the adult part, when did you become an adult exactly?" She asked teasingly and laughed at the look on Pucks face. "But in all seriousness I do have something important to tell you."

He shifted slightly from his seat on the bed so that his whole body was facing hers before speaking "Okay, tell me then."

Rachel looked at him for a second and wondered if this was really the right thing to do. She knew it was too late because she already felt herself becoming attached to the idea of having Pucks baby but what if he didn't want it? Or wasn't ready for it? He seemed so excited about the idea of going back to normal and doing things the way that they used to, he might not be ready for a change as big as this. She let out a deep breath, she had to do this regardless of him being ready or not. "I uhm, finally visited the doctor today like you've been asking me to do for a while now."

"Really? Why didn't you tell me? I would've gone with you if you would've asked." Rachel just rolled her eyes because she knew how much Puck hated doctors and waiting rooms and that whole process. This appointment might have been one that he would have been interested in though. "Well what'd they say? It's not like really bad or anything is it?"

She looked at him for a second. There was so much concern and worry in his face and she didn't know where it'd come from. It was like he was a completely different person or something. He cared so much about her and she cared so much about him. Rachel suddenly felt like her heart stopped for a second. She couldn't do this. Not now, not like this she just couldn't. She choked back tears before shaking her head softly at him. "It's just a stomach flu. They ran a few tests a-and said I should be better in no time." She said with a reassuring smile.

Puck looked at her suspiciously, Rachel was still such a shit liar and he just didn't understand why she would hide something from him. He looked at her and noticed how sure she looked of herself though, almost as if she was telling the truth or something. "Okay, that's great baby." He said before pressing a kiss to her forehead and standing up to get ready for bed himself.

Rachel just leaned back against the bed and let out a deep silent breath. She couldn't do it. Why the fuck couldn't she just do it? It wasn't so hard, just say the words _I'm pregnant_ and then it was over. But it wasn't. He'd have questions and feelings and she'd be alright with that if she knew for a fact that they'd all be positive. She knew that telling him was going to be the hardest part, telling Puck meant that it really was all over for her. That she was going to have the babies and get married and just be the wife who made nothing of herself. She loved her unborn child already but the idea still terrified her. She was only twenty-one years old. This wasn't part of her plan and she couldn't even imagine how Puck would feel. She was sure that this wasn't part of anyones plan.

She just needed time to think it through. She needed to come up with a way to be certain that Puck was going to be okay with this. She'd tell him when Santana left, a week was perfect timing right? And besides, Puck shouldn't have to deal with a pregnant woman and Santana at the same time. It'd be too much for him so she was actually doing him a favor by not telling him yet.

This would just have to remain her little secret for now.

**NEXT CHAPTER: Puck and Rachel spend some time together, Quinn talks to Santana and we see a little more of Nathan and Rachel.**


	5. Five

**A/N: sorry for how long it took to post this up but i kind of lost my muse for a little while. i think i actually want to beta this story but i've never worked with a beta before, so if you're interested let me know please because i could really use the help. anyways, this chapter has a lot going on in it. i've got a lot of ideas for this story and it's going to be much longer than 'get what you need' was. remember when i said this story would be a little angsty? well this is where that sort of comes to play. don't worry though, things will get better i just like torturing my characters a little haha.**

**reviews are always appreciated and remember, i don't own glee!**

* * *

"So you didn't tell him then."

Rachel slouched down slightly against the comfortable booth seat of the Diner that she and Nathan had recently discovered. So far it was one of the only places that served food that didn't make her want to vomit so she took every opportunity that she got to eat there. She'd been feeling a lot better than she had been ever since that first doctors appointment. She was still nauseous and she was still tired all of the time. Just recently she promised to take Amelia to the park so they could spend some time together and get ice cream but she fell asleep within the ten minutes that Amelia took to get ready and Santana wound up taking her instead. Rachel wasn't really liking the way that Amelia had started to warm up to Santana. It turns out that the one week that Santana was supposed to be staying in New York had turned into much longer. She said that she was on break from work for the next two weeks and she didn't really get the chance to see the city while she was staying with her boyfriend so she was going to stick around. Rachel wanted to suggest helping her pay to stay in a hotel or something but Puck insisted that she stayed with them. She knew he was just trying to play the good guy and keep her away from that asshole boyfriend who would hurt her but they couldn't put their lives on pause just because of Santana. Well at least she made for a good distraction. Puck was so focused on trying to make her feel more comfortable that he hadn't really noticed all of the changes going on with Rachel. Like her boobs? Totally already bigger. And they hurt all the damn time too so it wasn't like she'd let Puck do much but normally he would have noticed something like this. And this morning in breakfast she ate two pieces of bacon. Rachel had prided herself in being a vegetarian for years, she was able to resist the meat cravings while she was pregnant with Amelia but she felt like she'd explode or something if she didn't eat it. Puck just looked at her strangely and asked if that'd really help considering she still had a 'stomach flu.' You know, she was really madly in love with him but sometimes Puck could be a real idiot.

"No, I haven't really had the chance to. I mean I did have the chance and I blew it but ever since then I haven't really had the chance." She said before taking a sip of her water.

Aside from Nathan and herself, Quinn was the only other person who knew about baby. She kind of figured it out after Rachel hadn't called her for three days and when they finally did meet up, Quinn actually cared enough to notice all of the changes going on with Rachel. She didn't really mind her best friend knowing about baby or what was going on, Quinn was always good at making her feel better about shit situations, but the less people that knew before Puck actually knew then the better. She didn't even want to imagine the huge deal he would make if he knew that Nathan got to go to the first doctor's appointment and hear the heartbeat before he did. She was sure he'd be mad if he found out that Nathan was there at all. Which was why she wasn't planning on even telling Puck that Nathan knows about baby. He didn't need to know that Nathan was there or any of that and if he asked then she'd just tell him the truth; Nate figured it out on his own and she didn't want to be alone. But she was sure that no one was going to tell him unless it was her.

Nathan sighed "Rach, you know you need to tell him. The longer you wait the worse it's going to be when he does find out. What are you so afraid of? Any guy would be ecstatic to know that they're having a child that's half yours."

The attempts to flirt didn't get past Rachel that easily. She noticed that the more time she spent with Nate, the more comfortable he'd become with her and she was positive that if she were single right now he would be ten times worse than he already was. Rachel just let it slide and acted like she didn't notice though because she had enough shit to deal with and Nathans little crush on her or whatever was the last thing that she was concerned about. "Because! I don't know." She pouted and looked away from him for a second "I just don't know how he's going to take it. We're both so young and he just started living, like really living, and I don't want to be the one that ties him down with responsibility all of a sudden." She said truthfully. No one who had just started a career and got their lives together wanted a baby. He would want babies after they got married and everything slowed down. "And besides, Santana is staying with us and it's just going to be too much for him right now."

"Fuck Santana! He's the one who knocked you up so you shouldn't be the only one suffering for it. Rachel, do you want him to figure it out on his own or something?"

Rachel frowned and shook her head "No, I don't." She watched as a waitress came and gave them their lunches. Nathan was having a healthy chicken salad while Rachel couldn't resist ordering the bacon cheeseburger that they had on special that day. She looked at her meal with satisfied eyes before hearing Nathan clear his throat. Rachel rolled her eyes and nodded "Tonight, okay? I'll tell him tonight, just let me eat in peace!"

Nathan just laughed and gestured for her to begin before taking a bite of his own meal. Truth be told, the more time he spent with Rachel now that she was pregnant, the more he felt he loved her. But after a certain amount of time the love kind of shifted from a romantic kind of love to the kind that only a brother could feel for his little sister. He just wanted to protect Rachel and that kid inside of her and he loved seeing her happy all of the time and if anyone was going to stress her out or frustrate her then it was going to be him and not Noah Puckerman. He could love Rachel any way he wanted to but he'd always hate that boyfriend of hers. He'd come to hate anyone who made his Rachel feel like shit, including a miss Santana Lopez who he hadn't ever even met before. If anyone deserved to be happy then it was going to be Rachel and he was just trying to do whatever it took to make that happen.

* * *

Meanwhile, Santana was off having lunch with her old friend Quinn Fabray. As glad as she was that she had someone who actually cared enough to reach out to her, except for Puck who didn't really count because she reached out to him first, she was still kind of anxious and curious about this whole meeting. The last time she spoke to Quinn was graduation day where the blonde expressed everything she thought about Santana. In short, Quinn called her a bitch who had nothing better to do than make other people feel fat and bad about themselves and that she'd be happy if she never ever had to hear from her again. As far as Santana was concerned, forever hasn't arrived yet and this meeting was either going to consist of a really bad bitch fight, or some pathetic girly making up and she wouldn't be the first to bet on that one.

"So you're probably wondering why I asked you here considering how awkward things were the last time that we actually spoke to each other." Quinn said as she looked up at Santana with this serious look on her face. Santana couldn't really remember the last time she saw Quinn look this serious. Usually in high school she was really pissed off or sad or complaining about being fat or loosing her virginity to Puck or whatever but never this serious. This was kind of awkward. The Latina just nodded before letting Quinn continue whatever she was trying to say.

"I just want you to know that I don't care about what happened to you before you got here, you'd better not have anything up your sleeves." Santana arched a perfect eyebrow. Not because she was offended that Quinn would even suggest that she was doing something bad but because she couldn't believe that Quinn knew that she was planning to do something. Honestly, it was for the best. People like Rachel and Puck didn't belong together. Puck needed someone feisty that could keep up with him, someone who could love him the right way and it just so happened that she needed to be loved the right way just about now too. The tension around that place is insane and breaking the two of them up would just be her doing them a favor. He'd come to his senses eventually and want her back so why not give him a little push in the right direction? "Rachel and Puck have been through so much to get to the place that they're in now and they're so in love with each other and that little girl of theirs so if I even think that you're trying to pull something sneaky I promise that you will never see any of us ever again."

Santana actually laughed at Quinns threat. She was just so innocent and all about god and church and staying abstinent, you know after she popped a kid out, so hearing her say anything like this was kind of funny. "Q, it's been years since then. I'm not the same girl I was in high school. I promise that I only have good intentions while being here. I mean what would I do that was so bad anyways?" She said with a chuckle.

Quinn glared at her for a second. She didn't trust her at all. Sure they all might have grown up and yeah they haven't seen each other in years but none of them had changed all that much. Quinn still thought of herself as somewhat the same girl that she was in high school and she knew for a fact that Rachel and Puck were still the same people who fell in love all those years ago so she wouldn't be very surprised if Santana was still the bitch that she'd always been. "Whatever." She mumbled before taking a sip of the tea that she'd ordered for herself. "Just make sure that you know that I'm watching you and that I don't trust you. They might have been stupid enough to be kind and let you into their home but I'm not about to let anything happen to my friends."

Santana just nodded and offered Quinn a sweet smile "Don't worry, whatever you think is going on definitely isn't." She said before she drank some of her own tea. Quinn really had no idea.

* * *

Rachel got home early from work that day. She told her director something about needing to pick her daughter up from school early because there was an emergency in her boyfriend's job and he wasn't able to do it. Lying had never been Rachels first resort to anything but tonight had to be perfect. Tonight she was finally going to tell Puck everything that she'd been keeping from him for the past three weeks, well you know with the exception of a couple of things that he might kill her for, and she was going to accept whatever reaction that he gave her to it. When she spoke to Quinn earlier that day she made a couple of valid points. Puck loved children, everytime he was with Amelia it was like he was a completely different person. He was going to be so glad about this whole thing and everything was going to be fine. Everything was going to be fine. Everything was going to be just perfectly fine. Rachel frowned as she walked into her apartment and heard the shower on. Was Puck home early too? Fuck that'd really ruin everything. Then she remembered about their little guest and rolled her eyes. Santana wasn't going to get in the way of anything that was going on tonight.

The Latina frowned as she looked for some body lotion after her shower. Puck had told her that she could make herself at home the first night that she was there and in her opinion, stealing Rachels body lotion was pretty much about as making yourself at home as it got. She crouched down and looked in the bottom cabinet under the sink. Suddenly she noticed a brown bag behind a couple of other bottles and things. Furrowing her eyebrows she opened it and pulled whatever was inside out. A sly smile grew across her face as she discovered the four positive pregnancy tests beneath Rachels bathroom sink.

Half an hour later, Santana walked out of the bedroom completely dressed with a content smile on her face. Rachel turned to look at her from the kitchen and raised an eyebrow "Have fun taking a shower in my bathroom?" She asked as she continued to tidy up a little bit.

Nodding, Santana pulled a stool from the counter out and sat on it. "Yup, your body lotion smells amazing by the way. I can tell why Puck is all over you." She said as she smelled her wrist and looked back at Rachel.

"Yeah, Noah definitely loves it." She mumbled. Rachel was seriously trying her hardest to not sound pissed off at Santana at this point. There was no time to get at it with her high school rival right now. She needed to finish cleaning then start dinner up then pick up Amelia and drop her off at Quinns house where she'd be spending the night. By the time she got home she'd only have about an hour left to finish dinner and make herself look amazing for her boyfriend which was going to feel practically impossible considering she felt like a cow ever since she started eating them again.

"Why are you making dinner so early? It's like two…" Santana asked curiously.

"I'm making a big dinner for Noah and myself." She turned toward the brunette and looked at her seriously "I hope you don't mind letting us have the place to ourselves for a few hours?" She asked.

Santana shook her head and smiled "Why would I mind? It's your home, I'm just visiting. What's the big occasion thought? Anniversary? Job promotion? Good news?"

Rachel stared at her for a second. Did she know anything? She saw the smile on Santanas face and almost shook her head. Please, how would Santana know anything about this? She was less observant than Puck was. "No, well I don't really know. I just have a feeling it's going to be a really special night." And she did have a feeling that tonight was going to be special. She also had a feeling that tonight was going to suck. She really needed to stop thinking so much before she made herself sick or something.

"Oh, sounds nice. Don't worry, I'll be out of your hair by eight or so." Rachel smiled appreciatively at her and Santana just smiled back.

By this point the both of them couldn't think of anything but how absolutely perfect tonight was going to play out.

When Puck got home he was surprised to see how different the place looked. It was still home but it was cleaner and smelled like…shit was that steak? Fuck yeah! As he looked around he noticed candles lit up and romantic shit lying around everywhere. Wait…was he missing something? When Rachel texted him saying that she was going to pick Amelia up and take her to Quinns for the night, he figured it was because she wasn't feeling well and didn't want her to get sick too or something. This was definitely not what he was expecting to see. Was it her birthday? Puck panicked for a second before realizing that Rachels birthday wasn't until January and it was still only May so he was safe there. And their Anniversary wasn't until March, he'd never forget that day because it was like the best sex him and Rachel had ever had before and he liked to keep the images from them in his head for uhm personal reasons. So what was all of this? Rachel didn't go out of her way to make things nice for them unless something was going on. Suddenly Santana brushed past him and it was almost impossible to not notice the way she was dressed. Short skirt, fuck me heels and a top that left little to the imagination. What was going on here?

"Where are you going?" He asked curiously as she started looking through her purse.

"Rachel obviously has plans for the two of you that unfortunetly doesn't involve me tonight," Puck rolled his eyes as Santana just smirked at him before continuing "So I decided to go make some friends in the bar down the street while you two…yeah, ugh."

Puck grinned suddenly. He was totally getting laid tonight! So that was what all of this was for? Rachel was horny? Well damn, all she had to do was ask and he would have had them naked in seconds but she really pulled out the big guns for this one. A part of him kind of wondered if there was something more to all of this but he quickly dismissed that theory as Santana opened the front door and he grew closer to being alone with his girlfriend.

"Hey Puckerman?" Puck looked at Santana and raised an eyebrow "Don't do anything I wouldn't do tonight." She winked before finally leaving the apartment.

He couldn't help but laugh because there wasn't very much that Santana Lopez wasn't willing to do, he dated her for a few months so he would most definitely know. Now that she was gone and out of the way, Pucks attention turned to finding his gorgeous girlfriend and ravishing until she couldn't feel her legs. Wait, did he just think the word ravish? Puck made a mental note to stop spending so much time listening to Berry talk from now on before he turned into a dictionary or something. When he reached the kitchen he grinned as he took Rachels appearance in. Although she was turned around, facing the sink, he could tell that she was wearing that short red dress that he loved so much on her. Grinning, Puck walked quietly up to his girlfriend and wrapped his arms around her causing her to let out a loud scream and jump.

"Fuck! Noah, are you trying to kill me?" She asked as she put her hand over her chest and leaned her head back so that it rested on top of his chest.

"I could ask you the same thing." He said as he tightened his hold around her waist and bent down a little bit so his lips could latch onto the specific spot on her neck that he knew she loved to be kissed on. "So what exactly is all of this about anyways?" Puck asked after he made sure that he left his mark on her skin.

Rachel let out a deep moan and closed her eyes as Pucks lips made contact with her neck. Her body went limp as he worked his magic on the specific part of skin that drove her insane until he suddenly pulled away and spoke into her ear, snapping her back into reality. She had to stop getting distracted so easily or else she'd never be able to tell him the news and as much as she hated admitting it, Nathan was right. She needed to tell him before he figured it out for himself.

"I just wanted to have a special night with the love of my life." She said before leaning up to her tip toes and pressing a kiss onto his lips "Is there anything wrong with that?"

Puck shook his head and smiled before pulling her into a tight hug from behind "Nope, not when you look like that there isn't." Rachel scoffed and smacked his arm playfully before pulling out of his grasp and putting the finishing touches to the table she'd been setting.

"Dinner is ready, honey." She said, faking what she would assume a fake housewife would sound like. Puck just laughed and pressed a kiss against her forehead before sitting at the table to enjoy a totally badass dinner with his woman.

Puck smiled down at Rachel as she laughed. After dinner, totally awesome by the way, they moved over to the living room where Rachel pulled a couch pillow onto Pucks lap and rested her head onto it so that she could lay down comfortably. They just started talking shit and making out and Puck couldn't keep the smile off of his face. Whatever it was that Rachel was trying to brainwash him into agreeing to was totally hers at this point. He had to admit that for a little while he'd sort of ignored her and their relationship. It wasn't that he didn't love her or that he was mad at her or anything it was just that he was really busy at work and Santana took up all of his attention. She was just so broken and upset sometimes and Puck didn't really know how to handle sad chicks but he wasn't just going to sit there and let her suffer like that. He'd offered his home to her so he might as well offer some comfort too. But now he couldn't think of anything but how glad he was that he put a ring on Rachels finger before someone else got the chance to. She was awesome and hot as fuck and she knew exactly how to cook some steaks. She even went as far as to taste it and everything.

"I love you, Rach." He said after all of the giggling calmed down.

Rachel smiled and grabbed onto one of his hands, pulling it until he had his arm wrapped around her body and both their hands rested on top of her stomach. She wasn't sure if it was the contact between them or the fact that she was about to give him just about the most important news of his life but she suddenly felt as though butterflies were fluttering all around her stomach. She let out a deep breath and looked up at him.

"I love you too, Noah." And she'd never meant it more in her life. Sure this baby was a little inconvenient but it was still all theirs and she already loved it. Even if it did make her want to scarf a burger down everytime she thought about anything involving food. Mm, a burger actually sounded really good right now. Maybe after she told Puck about all of this he'd be willing to go out to McDonalds or something and get her one? Or two. She wasn't picky. But first she had to tell him, right. She sat up and looked at him seriously for a second. "We really need to talk about something."

Puck furrowed his eyebrows and let out an almost nervous chuckle. "Of course we do. I knew you weren't gonna put some shit like this together unless you wanted something. Whatever it is, yes. Yes, yes, yes, as long as I can get you out of that dress soon." He said with a flirtatious smirk.

Rachel just let out a laugh and shook her head. "This isn't exactly a question, Noah." Rachel squeezed his hand gently before continuing. "You know how I've been kind of sick lately and told you that the doctor said it was just a stomach flu?" She watched as Puck just nodded "Well it's more…complicated than just a stomach flu, Noah."

Before she was even able to finish saying what she needed to say, Puck interrupted with his own concern. "Wait so you lied? Shit, Rachel this isn't like one of those incurable diseases that no one could figure out right? You're not like possessed by the devil or anything like that little girl in the poltergeist? Cause if that's the case then I'm sorry but I gotta go. I mean we're Jews, shit like this shouldn't happen to us."

Rachel rolled her eyes at him "More like I'm possessed with your evil meat eating sperm."

Pucks head snapped back in the direction towards Rachel and he furrowed his eyebrows. "Wait…what did you just say?"

"I'm pregnant, Noah. Not ill with the stomach flu, not diseased in any way, and definitely not possessed by evil demons, which by the way I think you need to stop watching scary movies and playing those rotten video games because they're seriously corrupting y-mph!" Rachel was stopped suddenly when Pucks lips crashed against hers. She was shocked at first but after a while just melted into it and closed her eyes.

When he finally pulled away he just had a grin on his face. "You're really pregnant?" He asked as he moved his hand so that it covered her still flat stomach.

Rachel just nodded softly and smirked at him. "Yes." She pressed her forehead against his before frowning slightly "You're not upset about this?" She asked.

Puck pulled away without taking his hand off of her stomach "Why would I be upset about this? Rach, we're having a baby together. I know we're not married or whatever but shit, this is going to be the awesomest kid on the planet. You know, besides Amelia."

"So you're happy?" She asked with a smile on her face before he nodded. "Oh god, I'm so glad. You have no idea how glad I am that this makes you happy because I've been walking around for about a month with this huge secret, thinking that you were going to hate it but you don't! You're happy and I'm so happy that you're happy and…what's wrong?" Somewhere in the middle of her little speech, Pucks face kind of changed into a confused one and it was really making it hard for Rachel to enjoy this moment when he was staring at her like that.

"You kept this from me for a month?" He asked.

Rachel felt her heart sink at the sound of his voice and she just nodded "Well I figured it out about a month ago. The night of Amelia's party was when I first took a test and then I when I went to the doctors the day that Santana showed up at our doorstep and I just couldn't tell you. I know it sounds like I'm making excuses but I really was just scared of how you would react." Puck gave her a confused look before she continued "You just started a new job and things were beginning to look up for us. I was afraid that a pregnancy might put too much pressure on you."

"So you decided to multiply the pressure on yourself while you're carrying my kid just because you wanted to ignore the inevitable? No shit I'm gonna feel pressured but this is our kid, Rach. What did you think that I'd just walk out on you or something?"

Rachel frowned and shook her head "No, I know that you'd want to do the right thing and take responsibility even if you weren't happy about this. We still have options, Noah."

It took him a second to realize what she was really saying. Options? Was this a fucking joke or something? Rachel knew what he'd been through in high school with Quinn and Beth. She knew how much he wanted a family someday and even if she hadn't known all of those things, wasn't the way he treated Amelia like his own daughter proof enough? Just the thought of going through with any of those options upset him. He swore to himself after he gave Beth up that he'd never abandon another child of his and he was pretty sure that what Rachel had in mind counted as abandonment in some sense. "We're having this baby." Even he was kind of surprised by how low and serious that sounded, almost like a command or something.

By this point Rachels eyes were watering. She wasn't sure if it was because of the pregnancy, she recalls wanting to cry over everything when she was last pregnant, or because while Puck thought that he sounded dark and commanding, she could hear the sadness in his voice. She just nodded and pulled him into a hug, holding him as close to her as she possibly could as she freely let the tears fall from her eyes. "Yeah, we're going to have this baby, Noah. We're going to have this baby." Rachel couldn't resist a smile as she pressed comforting kisses onto Pucks head while he held onto her as if his life depended on it. This wasn't the reaction she expected. She expected anger and confusion and a lot of yelling. She kind of expected for him to kind of look sad about this. Like he wanted to run away but he knew that he couldn't because he was a good person. Rachel hadn't expected for him to be so genuinely happy about this. Even less did she expect to feel so…so emotional. It was a good kind of emotion though. Or well, she hoped it was.

* * *

Puck grinned as he pulled Rachel down onto his lap. She was well into her seventeenth week of pregnancy, Puck was still kind of ticked off about her waiting almost an entire month to tell him about their baby but he knew now and he was able to be there for her now so it didn't really matter anymore. Now that the morning sickness had stopped some, she still couldn't stomach the smell or taste of some things like garlic, anything that included cinnamon, seafood and most of all coffee, Rachel was actually kind of glowing and Puck wasn't afraid to say it out loud either. His girl was fucking gorgeous and knowing that his kid was inside of her? It drove him crazy. It must have been a man thing or something but all of a sudden he felt like Rachel was his. It didn't matter how much time she spent around that douche, Nathan, or how many other guys would check her out whenever they were out in public, Rachel had _his_ child inside of her. He subtly put his hand on her stomach before leaning in to press a kiss onto her neck, a huge grin appearing on his face as he heard a giggle escape her lips as she squirmed in his grasp.

"Noah!" she smacked him playfully on the shoulder before pressing a kiss onto his temple. "Everyone is here! We can't do this now."

"Do what baby?" He raised an eyebrow before pulling her into a soft but loving kiss. "Don't worry, no one knows anything."

Rachel tensed a little bit as he said that. Spring Awakening opened just this weekend and Rachels mom (it didn't take very long for Rachel to consider Shelby her mother after the whole incident with Amelia occurred) and dad were visiting along with Pucks mother and younger sister to support her. The two decided that it was perfect timing to tell their friends and family about the child that they were expecting. Puck invited a few of his closest friends that he'd made over the last few years while Rachel invited a few cast members, including Richard AND Nathan. Quinn and Finn had shown up of course as well as Kurt and Josh who were being entertained by Santana. So she hadn't left yet but Rachel didn't care very much, Santana was harmless and nothing was going to ruin this moment for her. She just felt terrible about lying to Puck. If he knew that Quinn and Nathan knew about the baby before he did he'd be furious. Especially considering that he still wasn't Nathans biggest fan.

"Noah, stop harassing the girl!" Puck rolled his eyes and Rachel fought back a laugh as his mother, Rose, chastised him. Whenever Rachel was serious about an argument with Puck she'd always threaten to call his mother on him. It might have seemed immature and pointless but Momma Puckerman _always_ whipped Puck into shape.

"Ma' I'm not harassing her. Tell her how much you like it, baby." Rachels cheeks turned a bright pink color as Puck tightened his hold on her and bit down softly on her earlobe while his mother was standing right in front of them. She had so much respect for and she'd learned to love her like her own mother over the years so this was definitely awkward for her.

"Noah! Stop it." She managed to push him off until she had his wrists pinned down by his sides.

Rose just chuckled before giving Rachel a kiss on the cheek and pressing another one to the side of her sons head. "You two have no idea how happy I am that you're together. I thought that Noah would never find himself a nice, beautiful, Jewish girl but now he's got you! I can't wait for some grandchildren of my own, not that I don't love Amelia like she was my own granddaughter but you know what I mean." She winked at them and Rachel fought back a giggle while Puck rolled his eyes. While other parents did all they could to make sure their kids didn't have them bringing home grand children, Rose Puckerman was doing all she could to make sure Rachel and Puck brought them home the minute she heard the words 'Jewish girlfriend' leave Pucks mouth. Rachel was like the fuckin' messiah to Rose or something and sometimes Puck had to wonder who loved her more, him or his mom.

"Actually," Rachel looked back at Puck apprehensively but he just smiled at her and nodded his head, lifting his hand from the spot on the couch so he could gently run his fingers through her hair. The brunette smiled at her fiancé before standing up and pulling him with her. "We both have a pretty big announcement to make." Rachel looked at everyone in the room and smiled. She might not be quite famous yet or married but this was perfect, this baby was perfect. "Puck and I are-"

"Pregnant! Oh I knew you were glowing. Mozel tav!" Rose yelled out the news before Rachel even had the chance but instead of being angry or annoyed she just erupted into giggles as she pulled Pucks arm around her and he almost instinctively placed it on her stomach.

People started to chatter again and Puck just nodded his head with a grin on his face "My ma' called it, I planted the good ol' Puckerman seed in this one."

Rachel blushed and smacked Puck on the chest "Noah! My father is here!" she said as she tried to hide her face in his chest. He just laughed and pulled her closer to him as people congratulated them and went back to their own conversations eventually. He pulled her back onto his lap and kissed her cheek as he openly rested his hand on top of her stomach so everyone would know that that was his kid in there and he was gonna protect it even now.

It wasn't long before Amelia came running up to them. The little girl tugged on the dress that Rachel was wearing causing the brunette to turn her attention to her daughter. "Hey baby, you tired yet?" it was past Amelias bed time but whenever there were people around there was no such thing. She, much like her mother, was born to entertain.

The little girl nodded anyways and waited for Rachel to get off of Pucks lap and move onto her own seat on the couch before she climbed into her mothers lap and rested her head on top of her chest. "Mommy, am I gonna be a big sister?" she asked innocently as she began to feel the sleep take over. Rachel just laughed and nodded her head "Yeah sweetheart, in a few months mommy is going to have a baby brother or sister for you." Amelia smiled against her mother "Good cause Becca James has been bragging about her baby sister since forever and its about time someone else got to take some attention." Rachel and Puck laughed at the little girl before she spoke again "Am I getting a sister or brother?" She asked in a small voice as she rested her hand on her mothers stomach.

Rachel just smiled and looked at Puck for a second who was smiling at them. "I don't know baby, what do you want it to be?" she asked her daughter.

Amelia shrugged and closed her eyes against her mothers chest. "I don't care. As long as I get to be oldest." Rachel and Puck both laughed as their daughter fell asleep. In that moment everything felt perfect.

"I'm gonna take her to her room." Rachel said as she stood up with Amelia in her arms before walking away. Puck just grinned and sat back, waiting for Rachel to return.

"Hey!"

Puck to the side and smirked when he saw Santana sitting next to him.

"Sup, Lopez?"

Santana just smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing much, just wanted to say congratulations. I know how much you've wanted a kid of your own since the whole Beth thing and it's cool that you and Rachel can have that now." Puck just smirked at her and was about to stand up before Santana grabbed his wrist. "I'm just glad Rachel finally had the guts to tell you about it."

Puck furrowed his eyebrows and sat back down. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I've known for like two weeks. Quinn and I'm sure Finn already knew, Beyonce and his boyfriend over there were talking about it to me when they first got here. Even hot play guy," she pointed at Nathan "Knew about it. Looks like you're the last to have found out." She shrugged almost innocently. "But at least she told you eventually." With that Santana stood up and walked away with an almost evil grin on her face.

Rachel walked back into the living room with a smile on her face and instantly moved onto Pucks lap "Where were we?" She asked as she put her arms around his neck.

Puck just stared at her for a second. Was she seriously not planning on telling him about that? He moved her off of him and stood up. "I'm gonna grab a beer." He said before walking away. Rachel furrowed her eyebrows and was about to call for him before Rose came back to talk to her about baby details. She smiled and started conversing with the woman. Puck was probably just tired or something.

Puck sighed and nodded his head as his mother was standing out the door, ready to leave. Everyone else had left at least an hour ago and she was the only one who felt the need to stay a little longer just to nag him and talk shit. The baby this and Rachel that and ugh he just wasn't in the fucking mood. "Okay Ma', bye." He said before shutting the door so she couldn't find a different to talk his ear off. Now to find Rachel. It shouldn't be that hard considering their apartment wasn't that big. He looked in their bedroom and bathroom first before deciding to check Amelias room. Oh fuck. There she was, laying peacefully asleep in the bed with their daughter curled up into her. How the hell was he supposed to be mad at that? Suddenly Rachel stirred a little and opened her eyes to see him standing there. She smiled "Wanna join us?" She asked as she scooted over a little bit in the bed to make space for him.

"No. We need to talk."

Rachel furrowed her eyebrows but nodded before pressing a kiss on her daughters forehead and tucking her back into the bed once she stood up. She yawned as she walked out of the room behind Puck and entered their bedroom. "What do you want to talk about baby?"

"Who else knew that you were pregnant besides me?"

She stayed calm because he already knew "Quinn. I told her not to tell Finn but I really can't tell you if she did tell him or not. Why?"

"You didn't tell anyone else?" He asked.

Rachel shook her head. Technically she didn't tell Nathan, he figured it out on his own. "N-no."

"Then why the fuck did Santana know? And Kurt and Josh? Oh and of course Nathan knew cause you guys are fuckin' married now or some shit!"

Rachels eyes widened when he mentioned all of those people "But- but I didn't…"

Puck shook his head and began talking before she could explain herself. "Don't even try to make me feel like the bad guy for this one. I'm tired of your shit already. What's gotten over you? You've been lying and holding back on me and acting all weird. I get that you're knocked up and all but shit, this isn't you Rach."

"Tired of my shit? Excuse me for being scared for a little bit alright? I can't always be the strong one, Noah and I'm sorry if that isn't good enough for you but it's not like I'm not trying here. I didn't tell you about telling Quinn because it wasn't important but I never told Santana or Kurt."

"And Nathan?" Puck scoffed when Rachel looked down and didn't respond to him "That's what I fucking thought. How long has he known?"

Rachel shrugged "He went with me to the doctors appointment that first time."

"Seriously?" Puck turned away from Rachel and scratched the back of his neck in need to do something. It wasn't as much that these people knew about the baby as it was that she didn't tell him about it. She was acting all scared and innocent but she wouldn't talk to him about it and it was frustrating as fuck, especially since he knew that she was probably crying about all of it to Nathan. "I have to get out of here." He said before opening the bedroom door and walking out towards the front door.

"Noah! Where are you going? You can't just leave like this, you wanted to talk and now we can."

"Now that the truth is out you wanna talk right, Rach? Okay, lets talk about how you've been a self centered snob the last few weeks. How you spent a month pretending our baby doesn't even exist and not because you were scared of how I'd react but because you don't want to give up some stupid play that's always gonna be there. Let's talk about how you haven't even mentioned our wedding ever since you found out about being pregnant and sometimes I don't even think you care anymore. Or hey, lets talk about Amelia. About your daughter who even if your life depended on it you wouldn't be able to tell anyone what was going on with her lately." He knew he was going a little overboard with this but shit, Rachel was acting like a snob lately and she always said one of the reasons she dell in love with him was because he saw through her and he was the only person who could ever call her on her bullshit.

Rachels eyes watered as he gave her his speech. She didn't mean for things to be this way, she just wanted to be happy. It wasn't like she was trying to make him angry or feel like she doesn't care, she did this because she cared too much. But like Puck, he was being a dick about it. He could tell her these things without being such an asshole okay? "Get out." She said quietly but it was there "You said you wanted to get out for a little while, go. I-I can't talk to you right now." She shook her head and walked away from him without looking back until she reached the inside of the bedroom and slammed the door shut.

Puck sighed but walked out of the apartment as soon as he knew Rachel was inside of the bedroom. He stuffed his hands into his pockets as he walked down the street, just looking to get fresh air at first, until he reached a familiar looking bar. He looked inside and saw Santana there laughing with a group of people who he wasn't familiar with. Shit, she made friends fast. The next thing he knew he was opening the door and heading in her direction, sitting down on an empty space next to her and smiling without saying a word.

Santana looked at him and smiled, reaching for his hand and grabbing it. Thankfully he accepted and she called over the bartender to bring them both shots. Turns out that she really was a genius.

* * *

A few short hours later, Rachel was finished crying and being pissed off at Puck. She realized that he was kind of right. Maybe she hadn't been paying very much attention to her family lately but all he had to do was tell her if it really bothered him. Wasn't that what being in a relationship was about? Communicating? Well she was guilty of being bad at the whole communication thing too but that didn't mean that he couldn't talk to her. They both just needed to get their shit together and soon. She sighed and tried to push her negative thoughts out of her head while rubbing her stomach gently. Rachel might not have paid much attention but she wasn't stupid, too much stress was going to harm her baby and she wasn't going to allow that no matter how stupid Puck might be sometimes. She heard a door open and soft whispering coming from the living room soon. Rachel turned to her side on the bed and decided that she'd just wait until tomorrow to speak to Puck or maybe even until he came into the bedroom. When she didn't hear anything again for a few minutes and realized he still wasn't next to her, Rachel stood up and walked out of the bedroom to see what he was doing.

"Noah? Baby what are you-" She froze when she took in the scene in front of her. Puck and Santana wrapped up in each other and this time they actually were making out. His hands were all over her, pulling her top up, grabbing one of her arms, and Santanas hands were linked around his neck, pulling him closer. "I-I can't believe this."

Puck pulled Santana off of him and stared drunkenly at Rachel before glancing down at the girl in front of him. "Fuck. Rach, this- this isn't what it looks like baby. Come here." He reached out for her but Rachel slapped him across the face causing him to wake up a little more. "The fuck!"

"I can't believe you!" Rachel was looking at Santana now who hand her arms crossed over her chest and rolled her eyes "You slut! I let you into my home and thought I was doing you a favor while you went through a rough time and you pull this shit? What the fuck kind of a person are you." Rachel took a step towards Santana and felt the anger rising in her. She might have grown up but she was still the same Rachel from New York who could actually bruise you with her words. "So this is what you do? Get guys drunk so you can ruin lives? Are you that pathetic? No one will ever love you as long as you're as big a bitch as you are." She shook her head and felt her eyes water before she just sighed. "Fuck this." Rachel turned toward the bedroom and didn't even bother closing the door.

Puck followed her into the room and scratched his head "Shit baby, that was hot. It makes me wanna start practicing for another baby. What do ya' say sexy?" He asked as he laid back on the bed and watched her come out from the closet with a large suitcase in her arms. "What the fuck is that for?"

"Are you stupid? You seriously can't be that fucked up that you think I would just sit around and stay here? After what just happened?" Puck just looked up at her questioningly and Rachel sighed, shaking her head disappointedly. "I can't do this. We can't put ourselves through this right now. I love you but this is all just too fucked up right now and I won't be around this while I'm pregnant, not again and I won't have my daughter around it either. I think we need some space."

"Rachel stop being so fucking dramatic, babe." He said drunkenly as he grabbed her wrist to stop her from continuing to pack. "Just sleep on it. You don't know what you're talkin' about and I'm sleepy."

"Then sleep Noah, maybe tomorrow you'll realize what a dumbass you are." She shoved him off of her before quickly just shoving some more clothes into her suitcase before going to Amelias room and grabbing some things that she was going to need and making sure to grab her favorite toys so she won't feel too bad about leaving home. In speed time Rachel was done and rolling the suitcase towards the door, not even looking at Santana on her way out, while holding Amelia in her arms. Rachel was an impulse kind of girl and when she thought something wasn't right she was going to do whatever it took to make it right. Puck was drunk and making out with other girls and yelling at her and she was selfish and confused and lying to him. This was just no way to live so she hoped that a few weeks away will help.

"Wait," Puck called as she reached the elevator to the apartment building. "Where are you going?"

Rachel sighed and held Amelia closer to her chest wondering when she'd become so heavy before looking back at Puck. "I'll call you." She said before pressing the elevator button. "Have fun with Santana." With that she stepped into the elevator and closed her eyes, hugging Amelia tightly as she tried to keep from crying. This was the right thing. The rest of the summer in Lima with her dad and old friends was going to be perfect for her and Amelia and hopefully her relationship with Puck.

"Yeah? Well have fun…have fun running away!" It was a lame come back but he really was kind of tired and pissed off. Puck punched the elevator door before turning and heading back into his now Rachel and Amelia-less apartment. What the fuck had he done?

**Next chapter: Rachel goes home to Lima, Puck deals with Santana and we get some baby puckerman news!**

**Remember, the more reviews the faster I update!**


	6. Six

**A/N: I'm starting this one off by saying that I'm glad you guys enjoyed the last chapter! A couple of you are really starting to hate Puck but I promise it isn't all his fault and you'll hear a little more of his side in this chapter. Also, theres a small time jump somewhere near the middle and the end of the chapter. Rachel was supposed to be spending just a week in Lima but wound up deciding to stay the whole summer since Amelia didn't have school to worry about so I hope that makes some sense and I'm not being too confusing with the dates. By the way, I'm definitely still looking for a beta for this story so if you're interested in helping me out just send me a message!**

**I love the feedback I've been receiving and I can't wait to hear what you all have to say about this chapter(:**

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'Can I call you?'

Puck wasn't going to stop until he got more than one worded texts in return from Rachel who in his head was still his fiancé. It'd been two weeks since the whole thing had happened and while his friends would all see him and say things were going to get better eventually he knew that they wouldn't. With each day passing Puck only found himself feeling more and more lost, more like an asshole for letting things get as out of hand as they did, more alone. The worst part was that Rachel didn't even know the whole story about that night. Puck took two shots and had a beer, it'd be enough to fuck anyone up but it was just enough to get him a little buzzed. Santana on the other hand was getting a little crazy and was about to let some creepy ass stranger take her home. He got to her just in time though and convinced her to get back home so she could get some sleep. The whole walk back though she wouldn't stop talking about how much she loved him and wanted him to take care of her forever. It made him uncomfortable but he couldn't just leave her in the streets or back in the bar where some other douche bag can take advantage of her. Puck might be a dick sometimes but he had a soft spot for his ex-girlfriend and although it wasn't romantic it didn't make him care any less so watching her practically set herself up for trouble was hard for him. They got back to the apartment and when he was about to help her get onto the couch to fall asleep she grabbed him and pulled him into a kiss. That was it. He could have all the drinks in the world but he only had eyes for his girls but Santana just couldn't understand that and apparently neither could Rachel. The next day Puck took the liberty of checking Santana into a hotel himself and making sure that she understood that she was fucked up and needed to get some help or something. He was done feeling bad for her, especially since she was the reason that his chances of having a real family were at risk.

'No. Sorry.'

Puck groaned and fought back the urge to throw his phone against the ground and just get up to look for her himself. He knows that he fucked up but she was supposed to at least give him a chance to explain. How were they ever going to work it out if she wouldn't even text more than 'no. sorry' to him?

'Baby, please stop doing this. I fucked up but u dont kno the whole story. I miss u nd Milly. If I cnt talk to u then at least let me talk to my kid.' He texted in response hoping that he could maybe get her to talk to him that way.

Rachel frowned at the phone and felt tears fill her eyes as she laid on her old bed. Amelia was downstairs helping her dad cook dinner and she was trying to take a nap but that obviously wasn't working out too well for her. The night that she left Puck she stayed in Nathans place until she was able to arrange plane tickets and make sure her understudy could cover for her in the play. To be honest, Rachel didn't think she'd be going back to spring awakening at all. She had no intentions of going back to New York until the end of the summer when she had all of her thoughts straightened out and by that time she'd be about six months along. She was already beginning to show a little bit, not enough to have to buy new clothes just yet or anything but enough that it always looked like she'd eaten a big meal and was bloated. She was constantly tired and didn't like leaving her bedroom very much unless she was hungry or needed to use the bathroom or shower. Although Amelia was having a great time with her grandfather, Rachel could tell that the little girl wanted more attention from her. She'd sometimes spend the whole day resting with Rachel, watching old movies in her room with her or just laying there and telling baby stories that she'd made up. Rachel loved her daughter and loved that she wanted to spend time with her but she didn't want Amelia to spend her whole summer indoors, being depressed like Rachel was. Yes, she'd reached a point where she was able to admit to herself that without Puck she was kind of depressed but she would never let anyone else know that. Her father kept insisting that they spoke and that they got everything out because he hated seeing her so 'depressed' but she'd just deny it and blame her isolation on the pregnancy. Poor baby wasn't even born yet and she was already using it as an excuse. She rubbed her stomach gently before picking her phone back up to text Puck again.

'Please, if you love me you'll give me this space Noah.'

'Can't I at least talk to my own kid?'

She was tempted to tell him that Amelia wasn't even his child but she wouldn't take it that far. Amelia was his daughter, maybe not biologically but she was his just as much as she was Rachels. She sighed and stood from the bed, not bothering to put on any shoes as she made her way downstairs with her cellphone in her hand before she made it into the kitchen to see Amelia sitting on top of the counter watching her dad prepare a salad.

"Look grandpa, mommy's awake!" Amelia hopped off of the counter and hugged Rachels legs. Rachel gave Amelia a tired smile and stroked her daughters hair lovingly.

"I'm just up for a second to see if you want to talk to daddy." She hoped that Amelia would say no, that she magically knew that Rachel was uncomfortable with the idea and that everything was just too fucked up at the moment to be in communication with him. Unfortunately that wasn't how it worked out.

"Daddy? Yeah! I wanna talk to daddy!" Amelia practically jumped up and down in joy after Rachel mentioned Puck.

She sighed and nodded her head before holding her hand out to Amelia and giving her father a sad look. He frowned at her before she led Amelia back upstairs and into the bedroom that they'd been sleeping in. Taking a deep breath, Rachel dialed Pucks cellphone number and passed the phone to Amelia quickly before he even had the chance to pick up.

"Hello? Rachel?"

"Daddy!"

Puck sighed. This was going to be harder than he thought it would be but he couldn't help but smile at the sound of his little girls voice. He missed that sweet, innocent voice so much.

"Hey pretty girl, how are you doing?"

"Great! I've been doing lots of stuff with grandpa and next week mommy says I start ballet classes. I'm really excited cause I wanna be a good dancer like mommy but I'm kinda sad too."

"Why are you sad Mills? You're gonna be awesome."

"Cause I miss you a lot. Why aren't you here too?" Rachel looked down and fought back tears as she heard and watched her daughter speak to Puck. She knew this had to be confusing for Amelia, she'd never been away from either of them for too long, but it was for the best.

"I just can't be there right now sweetheart but you're gonna be okay, alright? I want you to kick ass in dance and I really want you to take care of Mommy and Baby for me, can you do that?"

Amelia smiled and nodded "Yeah daddy! Mommy's getting fatter, she says it's just cause Baby is getting bigger and in a week we're gonna see if it's a girl or boy. I kinda want a little sister to play dolls with but a little brother would be cool too."

Puck smiled at hearing that Rachel was starting to show. God, he wished he could be there with them now more than ever. "And how is Mommy? Is she eating well and going out for walks with you and being healthy?" He just needed to know if Rachel was taking care of herself and his kid.

"Well she eats a whole lot but she's kinda sad all the time and she sleeps a whole lot. I usually go out with Grandpa or Uncle Artie and Aunt Tina." Tina and Artie had gotten engaged about a month ago and were obsessed with babysitting Amelia. They claimed it was like practice for when they decide to have children of their own but Rachel could see that they just had a specific soft spot for Milly.

"Hm," Puck didn't know what to say to that. If Rachel was going to be getting away then he wanted her to at least be happy and not locking herself in a room all day long. "Can you ask her if I can talk to her for a second?"

Amelia looked up at Rachel "Mommy, Daddy wants to know if he can talk to you for a second."

Rachel sighed. He wasn't going to let this go was he? She didn't want anything to do with him, couldn't he just understand that? Well they would have to talk to each other eventually if this was ever going to work out. Rachel wasn't sure what she wanted right now but deep down she knew that she'd want Puck back someday. He was her soulmate as cheesy as that sounded and plus, he knocked her up. They were kind of stuck with each other.

She grabbed the phone from her daughter and held it to her ear for a second before clearing her throat and speaking. "Hi Puck."

Puck? Shit, hearing her call him that was way more painful than he ever thought it would be. "Rach, you don't know how good it is to hear your voice. I miss you so much."

Rachel stayed quiet. What was she supposed to say to that? That she missed him too? Of course she did, she loved him but he hurt her. He hurt her worse than Jesse had hurt her even. At least Jesse had the decency to fuck a stranger and not a girl who she was familiar with, one who she'd let live under her own roof. "Amelia, will you go back downstairs to help grandpa with dinner?" The little girl just nodded and skipped out of the room, obviously happy that she'd finally spoken to her father. "What do you want to talk about, Noah?"

"Amelia says you're not taking very good care of yourself."

"That isn't what she told you, Puck. I was right there. I've just been tired, it's a normal part of pregnancy."

"Bullshit, Rach. You're not happy and I'm not happy. Why can't we try to work this out?"

"Because, Puck!"

"Because what? And quit it with the Puck bullshit, you don't call me Puck ever."

"Don't tell me what to do! I'm not your girlfriend anymore, you don't deserve anything from me."

Puck froze. Wait, she's not his girlfriend anymore? "Rach…Y-you don't mean that."

Rachel looked down and sighed. "I don't know what I mean anymore. Why should I stay with someone who turns to drinking and making out with other girls whenever something goes wrong? None of us can live like that."

"That's not what it was Rachel! Santana was really fucked up an-"

"I don't want to hear it. I've been through this before and I'm just not interested in your lies. If you care about me or our children you just won't bother me anymore. You can speak to Amelia but otherwise please, just please don't."

"Rach," Puck sighed into the phone and closed his eyes. What was he going to do with her? She wouldn't let him be there and if he couldn't be there then he couldn't fix things and he needed to fix things. "I'm going to get you back Rach, you just wait and see. I love you and Amelia and that kid in your belly too and I'm not just giving up." When Rachel didn't respond, Puck just decided that she'd had enough to think about for a day "I've got to go but think about everything I just said and please, Rach, don't lock yourself up all summer. I can't be there to take care of you so just take care of yourself for the kids sake. If you're going to be stubborn about this then at least do it right and have some fun out there. I'll talk to you later babe, I love you." With that, Puck hung up the phone and laid back against the couch and closed his eyes, it was better than having them open to nothing.

Rachel just looked down at her cell phone for she doesn't even know how long. He wasn't supposed to do this! It wasn't fair that everytime he fucked something up all he had to do was sweet talk her for a little while and she was his all over again. She was supposed to be taking a break from him and that was supposed to consist of her hating his guts and wanting him to get eaten by lions like she wanted for Jesse. Why couldn't she just hate him? Rachel threw herself back onto the bed as she felt the tears begin to form in her eyes. It was the right thing to do, they needed some time apart to think and figure things out.

But then why did it feel like a part of her had just been taken away?

* * *

"Thanks for being here with me, Tina." Rachel smiled at Tina who was standing next to her with Amelia sleeping silently in her arms. Rachel was propped up on a bed waiting for the doctor to come into the room for her ultrasound. She closed her eyes for a second and wondered what Puck would be doing if he was here. Probably pacing around, touching everything and cursing like a sailor because he was nervous. Just the idea of that made Rachel smile a little bit. She felt guilty about keeping him away from these experiences and huge moments but he was the one who fucked up and decided to make out with Santana after practically her a crazy bitch. So the only reason he wasn't there was because he was an asshole. Rachels thoughts were distracted when a cheerful man walked into the room.

"Rachel Berry?" He asked as he looked down at a chart before looking back at her with a smile "Hey, I'm Dr. Issac and I'll be your go to guy for the next few months. Before I begin with the ultrasound I just wanted to know if you had any questions?"

"Well this is my second pregnancy and I was just wondering if I should be getting so fat so quickly? I mean everything else is pretty much the same but I feel huge."

He chuckled and took a seat beside the ultrasound machine, turning it on and pushing a bunch of buttons that Rachel assumed was just to prepare it or something. "Well every pregnancy is different so even though you might have started showing during your twenty-third week on your first pregnancy, you might start showing at any time for this one but it's just a normal way of your body reacting." He gestured for her to lift her shirt over her stomach and poured the cold gel over her. Rachel turned her head to look at the screen almost instinctively and gasped when she saw the image of her baby. It was a huge difference from the little practically blob that she'd seen last time. This was a baby, a real baby inside of her. The doctor smiled and rubbed the wand over her stomach a little bit so he could properly hear the heartbeat and see if everything else was alright.

"Looks like your baby is perfectly fine," He said with a reassuring nod before looking back down at her "Would you like to know the sex?"

Her face lit up a little bit and she grinned when the topic came up "Can you seriously tell me?"

The doctor chuckled "Well you're a good twenty-one weeks along and I'm sure that I can give you the accurate result at this point." When Rachel nodded the doctor just smiled again and moved the wand around a little bit again before pointing at the screen "See that?" He looked down at Rachel to see her nodding again "Well that means that you're having a little boy. Congratulations!"

Rachel let out a soft but content laugh as she stared at the screen. It was one thing to be able to see the baby inside of her but to see it and know that it was her son, her little baby boy, well that was just a different kind of special in and of itself. Her emotions started to get the best of her as she took the whole moment in. She turned her head looking for someone to celebrate with. It wasn't that she didn't like Tina, she'd become one of her closest friends over the last few years since high school. She just wasn't Puck. She grinned anyways before speaking. "Wow I-I," She turned to the doctor. This was one of the very little times in Rachel Berry's life where she'd ever be speechless. "Thank you." She said softly with tears in her eyes.

The doctor just smiled and printed out a couple of pictures and a video of the ultrasound before handing Rachel a towel and then handing her the CD and pictures. "Well everything seems to be going perfectly although your charts show that you are slightly anemic which means you need to watch out with your stress levels and the way that you eat but as long as you do that everything should be fine. I'll see you in about a month but if you have any questions make sure to call and ask for me in specific." The older man smiled before stepping out of the room.

Rachel could hear Tina talking to her and she turned her head to smile and say thank you but she couldn't really find it in herself to listen. All she could think about was her little boy and how she needed to do whatever it took to protect him. As much as she hated to admit it, Puck was right. She needed to start taking better care of herself for her son.

* * *

"Bullshit!" Puck called out at the television screen while Finn just laughed. They were watching the basketball game together like they usually did even before the whole thing with Rachel happened. Quinn had kept her distance tonight which was weird because she usually liked to force Rachel to watch the game with them and pretend like she knew what was going on but Puck shrugged it off, he figured it had to do with the fact that Rachel wasn't around to keep her company or something.

"So," Finn said almost nervously as the commercial break came on.

"What?" Puck asked as he took a handful of chips and put it in his mouth.

"Have you like even talked to Rachel since she left?"

Leave it to Finn to turn a guys night into a fucking episode of Oprah. Puck sighed and leaned back into the couch trying his hardest not to look too much like a pussy even though just the mention of Rachel or Amelias name broke his heart all over again. "Yeah, I talked to her once and she just didn't wanna hear me out. I don't know what to do anymore bro." He said honestly.

Woah, Finn had never seen Puck look so beat up since that year when he and Quinn had to give Beth up. It was hard on everyone but Puck took it the worst and Finn could've sworn that nothing would ever make him look that beat up again because Puck was usually a tough guy and it was understandable that he'd slipped that one time but to watch it happen all over a second time? It was kind of like watching a puppy get punched in the face twice. "Well have you tried like sending her flowers or something? Quinn always forgives me when I buy her things."

"Are you both stupid?" Quinn stormed into the living room before Puck had the chance to even respond to Finn. "She's pregnant with your child, Puck, and you fucking cheated on her in her own home with someone who she actually considered a friend and you think that flowers are going to just make it all go away?"

"Hey I didn't suggest it, your genius boyfriend over here did. I know it's gonna take more than just some roses to get her back. I just haven't figured out what that is yet…"

Quinn rolled her eyes "She wants space, Puck. It doesn't help that you call like everyday to speak to Amelia and harass her with questions about Rachel. You're stressing her out when all she wants to do is not think about you or how you hurt her for just a little while. Give her the space she wants and she'll come back to you." Quinn honestly didn't like this whole arrangement herself. She thought Rachel should go ahead and give Puck a chance to speak because any idiot with eyes could see that those two were meant to be together and that Puck was innocent in this whole situation but being all the way in Lima wasn't going to help her realize that. But she was still Rachels friend and she was going to have to support her, especially since they weren't even in the same state.

Puck stayed quiet because he didn't want Quinn to hear the hurt in his voice when he admitted that he was scared of giving her that space. What if she realized she didn't want him anymore? She definitely didn't need him to survive because Rachel was independent and strong and courageous and she was the kind of person who didn't need anyone but herself to survive. It was something that he loved so much about her. But what if she found someone else who could do his job better while she was over there? Some douche bag who would take Amelia to the park and buy her ice cream instead of him and go home to rub Rachels belly and be there for his unborn kid? Fuck, Puck couldn't even handle the thought of that. Rachel might not need him but, and damnit he'd rather burry himself alive than admit it out loud, he needed her. "Yeah, whatever." He said quietly before taking a sip of his beer. He'd figure something out.

* * *

"You know sweetheart, I never really thanked you."

Rachel sighed but looked over appreciatively at Rose Puckerman who insisted that she and Rachel go shopping for maternity clothes together. Rachel tried dodging the whole thing but she couldn't really resist Rose and besides, she really did need new clothes at this point. Leave it to Puck to make her this fat. Yeah, she was pretty much blaming him for everything at this point. Just the other day it began to rain right before Rachel was about to take Amelia out to the park and after crying for about twenty minutes over it, Rachel decided that it was Pucks fault that the weather was so terrible and that it was probably nice and sunny in New York where he was and don't even get her started about the whole little mermaid incident the other day. Let's just say that Puck officially was to blame for Ursula's existence. So now Rachel was fat because of Puck and now Rachel had to spend the day listening to Rose Puckerman ramble on and on about how beautiful their child was going to be and how perfect he'd be and how much she hoped he was like Puck. Then she'd go on to tell baby stories about him and Sarah which made him sound irresistible and adorable and just made her want to call him. She was positive that Rose was doing this on purpose.

"Thank me for what? I should be thanking you for dragging me out of the house, I needed this." Well she really did. As hard as it might be to be around Rose now she appreciated her attempts to help. She really was one of the kindest people ever.

"For not pushing me away after this whole thing with Noah happened, and for giving me my first real grandchild. Although the thought kills me I hope you know that even if things between the two of you don't work out I'll always be here, darling."

Rachel smiled because although she knew that it was the truth already and she knew that Rose would do anything for her and baby and Amelia, it was just really nice to hear it too sometimes. "I couldn't push you away if I tried, Rose. Thank you for not thinking I'm stupid for what I've done with Noah." She looked down because even mentioning his name hurt her a little bit.

"Oh please honey, I know how stupid my son could be sometimes but he u-usually means well." Rose gave Rachel a shaky smile as she clutched onto her arm a little tighter than she had been before causing the extremely observant brunette to frown.

"Is everything alright, Rose?"

"Yes sweetheart, don't mind me I'm just an old woman who gets random pains sometimes."

Rachel didn't like dropping subjects like these very easily. Her daddy just had a little bit of astigmatism and only saw blurry once in a while then got into a huge car accident because he decided to drive at night so she'd learned at a young age to not take anything too lightly. "Are you sure?" She asked.

"Yes, Rachel I-" Rachel watched as she winced and gripped her arm a little tighter "Maybe we could sit down for a second?"

Nodding, Rachel turned to look for a bench or something that they could sit down on. Of course with her luck the only one available was a bit of a walk away but she turned to Rose and tried supporting her with her arm. "We're going to walk a little bit alright? There's a bench right over there okay?" Rose nodded numbly and tried not to put too much pressure on Rachel because she didn't want to stress out a pregnant woman but the pain in her chest was increasing and she was slowly beginning to feel like she couldn't breathe "Oh!" Rose yelped before clutching her chest and loosing all strength in her knees causing her to fall and take Rachel down with her. Luckily there were people around to notice the fall and quickly take action. Rachel was fine for the most part but Rose was unconscious on the ground clutching at her chest.

A few hours later, Rachel was still being examined by doctors. No matter how much she insisted that she was fine and felt fine, they continued to run these tests and take blood and do all of these things that she just didn't find necessary. She should be with Rose, making sure that she was alright and didn't fall too hard or hurt herself more than she'd already been hurting. They refused to tell her what was wrong with the older woman because they didn't want to add stress to Rachels situation (which was bullshit because they're the ones with the situation not her) so Rachel was just going to have to wait for the green light from her doctor to be able to go.

"Well you've lucked out. The fall hasn't caused any damage that we can see or predict at this point but after running a few tests we see that your anemia hasn't gotten much better and your blood pressure is a little higher than we'd like. Now that doesn't mean that you aren't eating right or taking the right precautions with this pregnancy but it might mean that you're too stressed about something. Perhaps work or your home life or even with the condition that your mother in law is in but no matter what it is we need you to calm down and relax for the sake of this baby alright? There's nothing to be worried about now but if this continues I don't think I need to warn you about the consequences."

Rachel looked down at her stomach and rubbed it gently as if she was trying to comfort her baby or something. "I'll do what I can. Can I leave now?" She asked before the doctor gave her a soft nod. "Thank you, Doctor." She said quietly before getting up from the hospital bed that she was on and stepping outside of the room to find her mother sitting there "Mom? What are you doing here?" She was supposed to be spending the day with Amelia.

Shelby stood up and hugged her daughter, smiling when she received the hug in return. "Oh honey, your dad got a call from the hospital and when he told me about it I rushed right over here. Don't worry, Amelia is with him in the waiting room."

"Waiting room? Why is he there?" She asked as she pulled away from her mothers embrace.

"Honey, Rose had a heart attack while the two of you were at the mall today. The doctors are doing everything they can but they say it was pretty bad. Come on we can go get Amelia and le-"

"No. No you go get Amelia and take her home with you, she doesn't need to be in this type of place right now. When Rose is stable I don't want my daughter to see her in a hospital, she doesn't need those kinds of memories. Someone needs to tell Noah and, and Sarah? Where's Sarah?" Rachel was tearing up already and she felt her hands shaking just slightly as she panicked a little bit. Shelby was taken aback by the sudden reaction her daughter was having. She knew it'd be stressful on her but she thought that Rachel would at least try to take it easy considering the doctor had just told her that she needed to lower the stress in her life.

"Honey, calm down alright? Please, you don't need this now. I'll take Amelia and you can stay here a little longer until Sarah and Noah get here. They've both been contacted and he took the first flight to Ohio that he could find. Just please try to relax alright?" Shelby made a point of putting her hand on Rachels bump which got her to let out a deep breath and nod her head. She was right, Rose was going to be okay and she couldn't stress herself out too much over this because she had a baby to think about now. It wasn't just her own health that mattered anymore but baby's too.

The minute they reached the waiting room, Rachel sat in the seat next to her fathers and curled up as close to him as she possibly could, not caring how ridiculous it looked that a grown and pregnant woman was snuggling up to her father in a public place. She needed comfort damnit and he was the only person on the planet aside from Amelia, who was asleep in Shelbys arms now, and Puck who knew how to do it properly. He kissed the top of her head and combed through her hair softly while they waited together. Eventually she closed her eyes and let herself fall asleep for the first time in what felt like forever.

Puck stormed into the waiting room with a rage. Fuck Lima hospitals! It was bullshit that he couldn't get any information on his Ma's progress or anything just because the fucking good for nothing doctor didn't feel like saying so. He didn't give a shit about the doctor, he wanted to know about his fucking mom. He really was trying to tone the douche bag down cause he didn't want to stress Sarah out more than she must have already been. He couldn't imagine how scared she must be right then but shit, he was scared too and he just wanted to know if she was alright. When he got the call and heard that his mom and Rachel both had an accident that day Puck swore his life was over. What was he supposed to do if he lost both of them? Or no, the three of them? He couldn't. He was going to get Rachel back and make sure she didn't leave the fucking apartment for the next four months and then he was going to get his mom and Sarah to move to New York too. He didn't care how annoying she was sometimes, at least she'd be closer to him in case shit like this happened again.

"Look, isn't that Rachels dad?" Sarah pointed at a tall dark man sitting near a corner with someone curled up into his side. Puck nodded and felt his heart beat through his chest at just the idea of hearing about Rachel. When he got closer and noticed it was her in Stevens arms he let out a sigh in relief. At least she wasn't hurt too although he was told that she took a fall along with his mom when she passed out which he wouldn't feel easy about until he heard straight from her, since none of those fucking idiot ass doctors wanted to tell him anything, that she was alright.

"Noah, son, how are you?" Steven asked trying his hardest not to be too loud or move too much so that Rachel wouldn't wake up. She'd had a rough day and he wanted her to sleep and be well rested so that when Puck got there she wouldn't be extremely stressed out and tired at the same time. He felt terrible, although Rachel had made a lot of improvement since finding out that she was carrying a boy she still wasn't anywhere near being back to normal. He thought he'd never see her act as badly as when Jesse cheated on her and she had to go through her pregnancy with Amelia alone but this time it was ten times worse. She was trying to fight her pain and it wasn't doing her any good and as her father he just wanted to hold her all the time and make things better. Oddly enough he didn't blame Puck. He knew that most of the time in relationships there were two sides to a story and she hadn't given him a chance to tell his at all. Rachel was always a stubborn girl, something she'd inherited from him, but she loved him and she was only torturing herself.

"Dealing." He said with a shrug without keeping his eyes off of Rachel who had one arm wrapped around her father and the other protectively wrapped around her now much larger baby bump. Something came over him at the sight. The same feeling he'd had that day when they were sitting on the couch together and he was rubbing her stomach. It was almost primitive, that kid in there was his and no one elses and seeing through Rachel how much the baby was advancing was just the most beautiful thing on the planet to him. And no, he didn't give a shit about that sounding gay or anything, nothing sounded stupid when he was speaking about his kid. "How's Rach doing?"

Steven shrugged his shoulder and he stroked Rachels hair again gently "She's hanging on. I know she's really beating herself up about what happened with your mother and her doctors say that all of the stress she puts herself under is harmful for the baby." He looked down at Rachels stomach before looking up at Puck who was staring at her stomach too. "I think she really misses you."

Fuck, why couldn't she just tell him that? He wanted her to wake up and curl up to him instead and assure him that she was in love with him and missed him and that everything was going to be alright. With all the shit happening now and his mom being sick on top of all of it he really just wanted his family back. "I miss her too." He said honestly.

Right in that moment Rachel stirred in her fathers arms and began to open her eyes. She groaned slightly and rested her head on her dads shoulder, trying to fall back to sleep but suddenly finding herself unable to because of how uncomfortable the chair was. She forgot how hard it was to squeeze into small spaces when she was pregnant. "Stupid fucking chair." She groaned before finally opening her eyes and seeing an amused looking Puck sitting right across from her. Wait, where was she again? She looked around and suddenly everything came back to her; The shopping, Rose feeling bad, falling down, all of the tests they ran on her and hearing that the woman who was supposed to be her mother in law someday had just had a heart attack. She looked back at Puck with wide sad eyes for a second without saying anything until she could be sure she wasn't going to cry and even then all she could let out was a "Noah,"

He stood up and was about to ask her if they could speak privately before a doctor walked into the room with a chart in his hands. "Puckerman?" The man called out causing Rachel, Steven, Puck and Sarah to all turn their attention to him hoping that he came baring good news.

**NEXT CHAPTER: We find out if Mrs. Puckerman is alright, Puck and Rachel have a talk and Rachel gets some advice from an old mentor.**

**Remember! The more you review the quicker I update(:**


	7. Seven

**A/N: This chapter is for all you Puck/Rachel shippers who miss seeing the two of them happy together. It's pretty much fluff for the most part but don't think it's all over just because of the way this chapter ends. I'm still looking for a beta if anyones interested in helping me out too and if you guys have any opinions about baby puckermans name please suggest away! I'm kind of leaning towards Adien David Puckerman but let me know what you guys want to see!**

**Also, I'm loving the reviews but the amount of hits this story has and the amount of reviews I've been getting just don't make sense so I'm going to have to hold out on updating until I have at least 60 reviews. I'm trying to reach 100 before chapter ten so please, all it takes is clicking the little button and telling me whether you love or hate it. Anyways, onto the story!**

**Hope you all enjoy the chapter! (:**

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Puck rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he watched his mother helplessly lay in the hospital bed. His whole life, Pucks mom had been the very definition of strength to him. His dad would beat her around but she'd take it, when the asshole finally left she had to work two different jobs to take care of him and Sarah and would still find time to raise them for the most part, whenever he'd do something shitty like knock up Quinn Fabray she was his rock. Puck might not show it all that much but his Ma' was the most important person on the planet to him. She's the one who helped him get to where he is now in life and if he lost her he didn't know what he would ever do.

Luckily she was going to be alright.

The doctor had walked up to them three hours earlier and told him that she'd faced a heart attack caused by stress and that she was lucky enough to live through it. He went on to explaining a bunch of medical shit that Puck didn't understand really but he got the general idea of it all; as long as she toned down the crazy she was going to be alright. He felt as though the world had finally lifted from off of his shoulders and he could breathe again and when Rachel took his hand into hers upon hearing the good news he even felt as though he was himself. It'd been about five long torturous weeks since he'd felt that small, soft and warm hand touch him in any way and he gripped it tightly as if he didn't ever want to let go. Thankfully she hadn't let go of his hand until they announced another hour later that he could finally go see her. They didn't say anything to each other but Rachel remained in the waiting room and he assumed that she just wanted to give him and Sarah some time with their mother before anyone else got to go in there. What Rachel didn't know was that Puck wanted her there, he needed her with him at this point in time. Sure they'd said that Rose was going to be alright as long as she changed her lifestyle up but that didn't make him any less worried for his mother. The idea of loosing her after he'd treated her like such shit for his whole life was terrifying and when he finally just wanted to be with his mommy (not that he'd tell anybody that that was what he wanted to do.) she was sick. And fuck, he could cry everytime he saw Sarah's face. She looked as though she could break or something any second. His little sister had always held a special place in Pucks heart. He thought she was a pain in the ass, she was a little too much like him sometimes, but that was his little midget. She was the only person on the planet before Rachel and Amelia came around that he actually felt as though he really needed to protect and seeing her like this, not being able to help her was just making him feel worse. He'd never needed Rachel as much as he needed her now.

Puck hadn't realized that he'd fallen asleep sometime between all of that thinking but he woke up suddenly when he felt the other side of the small couch he was sitting in sink a little bit. He groaned a little louder than he'd intended to and opened his eyes to find Rachel sitting down with a hand rubbing her stomach gently and her head held up by her other hand against the arm of the couch.

"How long have I been asleep?"

Rachel jumped slightly when she heard his voice. She'd been so focused on the sounds of the machines beeping and the peaceful look on Roses face that she hadn't even noticed him wake up.

"About half an hour. I'm sorry if I woke you, I just couldn't stand anymore." Damn her sore feet. Had she not been a huge cow she'd be able to stand for longer than two seconds without feeling like her knees were going to give out without her even being able to control it.

"Nah, s'no big deal."

They sat there in silence for a second and Puck couldn't help but think back to the time that Amelia was in the hospital after Jesse St. Douche Lord kidnapped her. The two of them sat on a couch similar to this one except Rachel was much closer to him. It took every ounce of strength in his body to not pull her towards him and let her lay down. He looked her up and down and realized how exhausted she actually looked. Bags were beginning to form under her eyes and her skin looked pale, he missed the tint of pink that she always had going on around her cheeks.

"So how you been?" He asked as he tried to make small talk with her. It'd been a while since they'd actually last spoken. He talked to Amelia almost everyday but never Rachel.

"Fine." She lied. "Baby has just been kicking a lot lately and that makes it a little hard for me to sleep." Again with blaming it on baby. Sure he kicked quite often, Rachel had theories that he was going to make an awesome dancer or soccer player (hopefully dancer) someday, but he wasn't the only reason that she wasn't able to get any rest recently. It was hard to sleep alone when you've been sleeping in the same bed with someone for the past five years. She missed Pucks embrace, especially lately since she'd found out the sex of baby. She wanted someone to share him with but no one was there.

"D-do you know if it's a boy or girl yet?" Puck had been in a really shitty place in his life recently but things really got bad everytime that Amelia would tell him she went to one of Rachels doctors appointments and got to see the baby. Those werenun the nights he'd usually drink himself to sleep or pull out the secret weed stash that he had in his car. He couldn't believe that this was happening to him again. How fucked up do you have to be to have both girls you got pregnant not want you to be a part of their lives?

"Yeah." Rachel said as she looked down at her stomach. She was comfortable enough with her baby bump to wear maternity jeans and shirts that clung to her body rather than covered it. The white top that she'd been wearing today was a little loose at the top so it fell off the shoulder slightly revealing the straps of her black bra and tightened around the waist so it showed off her bump perfectly. Just because she was a mom didn't mean she had to dress like a nun or anything. She was Rachel fucking Berry and pregnant or not she knew that she looked good. Fat, but definitely not terrible.

"Are you going to tell me what it is?" Puck asked, not meaning to sound as rude as he had but it came off that way anyways. He just wasn't used to Rachel saying so little to him and it was irritating.

Rachel stayed quiet for another second. It wasn't that she didn't want Puck to be a part of his sons life, she knew he'd make an excellent father, but she wasn't sure if she could do this. With Jesse it was easier because he didn't try to care about Amelia but Puck wanted this child along with Amelia and Rachel. He wanted all the right things but he was making all of the wrong moves and although Rachel knew that she had every right to keep him from her own life, she wasn't sure if she should keep him away from his children. "It's a boy." She practically whispered to him. If the room hadn't been so silent he probably wouldn't have even heard it.

A boy? Pucks chest swelled up with pride as he let his eyes roam down to her belly. She was carrying his son inside of her, a son that he'd be able to play catch with and teach how to properly get a girl. He was going to have a son that he hoped would have Rachels adorable smile and his nose (please let the kid have his nose). In a few short months he'd be able to say that he, Noah Elijah Puckerman, had a baby boy of his very own. He'd never really thought about the babys gender much. He actually kind of wanted a girl even, he wanted someone he could spoil and protect and it wouldn't hurt if she was the exact duplicate of Rachel and Amelia. Just as long as he didn't have someone who was going to end up like him, Puck was happy. But shit, he'd never thought about what it'd feel like to actually know that his son was in there. He thought he wanted a girl but all of a sudden that baby boy was all that he could think about. He was going to make sure that his son never fucked up with a girl like he'd fucked up with Rachel. Pucks son was going to be the most polite badass on the face of this planet and he and Rachel were going to sit back and be proud of their kids together. But first he needed to get Rachel and Amelia back into his life again.

"Wow." Puck said with a small grin appearing on his face. Rachel couldn't help but smile herself because she knew how he felt. There was no real explanation for the feeling you got when you knew what was growing inside of you, what you should be expecting in a few months. She loved her son so much already and based off of the look that she saw on Pucks face, he had to love him too.

Things grew quiet again but it wasn't quite as awkward anymore. Pucks grin faded a little bit but it was still obvious that something had really made him happy not too long ago and Rachel was comfortably leaning back into her seat, letting her hand trace random shapes on her bump.

"Where are you staying?" Rachel asked suddenly without even looking back at him.

Puck shrugged anyways and rubbed a hand over his face. "My Ma's place I guess. I mean where else am I gonna stay?" He looked at Rachel and arched an eyebrow, a part of him hoping she'd want him to go home with her.

"Oh." She said as she looked down at her hand on top of her stomach. She could practically feel Puck growing more frustrated with her than he had been over the phone when she would refuse to tell him what was going on. "I-I mean, if you want to you can come stay with me and dad…You and I do need to talk."

Was she actually suggesting this? Puck smiled for a second. This was going to work out, he was going to get his family back soon enough. He sighed though and shook his head reluctantly. "I don't wanna leave Sarah alone." He said and Rachel nodded her head, understanding that it'd be selfish to ask him to leave his younger sister alone at a time like this. "But what if you came to my place? I can sleep on the couch and you and Amelia can take my bed."

Rachel looked up at him once he suggested them staying in his house. "Or, I can just sleep with Amelia in your moms room. I'm not going to make you sleep on the couch and I'm positive that Rose isn't going to mind." The two of them looked over at Rose and their moods went down a little when they realized she wasn't well enough to respond.

Puck chuckled "If she weren't so drugged up right now she'd be having another fucking heart attack."

"I don't doubt it." Rachel said with a soft laugh.

This felt kind of good. She'd forgotten how comforting it was to speak to Puck after a long and stressful day. He was capable of taking the worst situations and making them almost seem like they didn't matter at all. Puck took neurotic, sassy and loud mouthed Rachel and made her kind of mellow. She glanced up at him again and resisted a smile. They still had a lot to talk about and work out. She had no idea why she was getting so excited about having him here. He still cheated on her with Santana and said all of those terrible things and just because something terrible happened and forced them together didn't mean she was just going to accept him back into her life. She had to be stronger than this for the relationship that she wished to have with Puck eventually and herself and most of all for her children. Her children definitely came first in any situation.

* * *

"And this is daddy's old room."

Amelia yawned but refused to keep her eyes shut as she rested her head on Pucks shoulder. She'd been fighting sleep off ever since she realized that he was actually there with them. Occasionally she'd giggle gently or say something but none of it was really conscious and both parents knew that the little girl was going to loose the battle she'd been having with sleep the minute that her back hit the mattress.

"Can I sleep in here?" She asked in the sweetest voice that Puck had ever heard in his life. "Please?"

Puck held her tighter to him instinctively as she begged in a tired voice. He'd never, ever been one to deny his kid of anything before and he wasn't sure that he was ready to start yet. Rachel was in the bathroom getting ready for bed and told Puck that he could give Amelia the grand tour while she did so. He sighed because the bed would definitely be uncomfortable for the both of them to sleep on. When Puck moved out, Sarah took his much larger bed and her twin sized mattress was moved into this room. It'd be perfect for a tiny Amelia, she was a midget just like Rachel, but not for Puck. Well he guessed he could just take the couch then. He nodded his head and pressed a kiss to Amelias cheek before gently setting her down on the bed and tucking her in tight like he knew she loved. "I love you so much pretty girl." He said as Amelia yawned and closed her eyes finally.

"I love you too daddy." Puck grinned and kissed her forehead once again before walking out of the room.

"Puck?"

He winced at how the nickname sounded coming from Rachels lips but he stopped anyways and walked into the bedroom. His breath caught slightly when he saw what she was wearing to sleep. She had on a pair of his boxers that she'd stolen from him while they were dating and although they were entirely too big on her back before she was pregnant again she always claimed that they were comfortable and now that she had a belly they fit her just fine but that wasn't really what caught his attention. She was wearing a black tank top that stretched just enough so he could see a little bit of the skin on her stomach. Her breasts also looked ten times bigger now that she was pregnant and Puck had to bite his lip to keep himself from commenting on her appearance. He'd always loved a more natural looking Rachel. She was at her hottest when her hair was just down and curled all naturally like it was now and when she wasn't wearing all that makeup shit so he could run his fingers along her cheeks and feel nothing but soft skin and he could watch her blush. God, Rachel was gorgeous. What kind of a fucking idiot ever risked screwing up a relationship with her? He should've kicked Santana out of the apartment the minute he found out Rachel was pregnant. Had he not been so focused on helping out a friend who only had bad intentions, he would have realized that at that exact moment his family needed to come first over everything.

"Sup? You need anything?" He asked even though he knew that if Rachel actually needed something she'd get it herself without even asking. This was practically her own home at some point in time.

"Where's Milly?" She asked while pulling her hair back and putting it into a loose ponytail that came over her shoulder.

"She fell asleep in my room and I didn't have the heart to move her so I'll just sleep on the couch. S'no big deal." Puck shrugged and turned to walk towards the direction of the living room before he felt Rachel grab his wrist.

"Wait." It was just an impulsive thing really. He was about to leave her alone and after the day that she'd just had she wanted nothing but comfort from someone else. Puck might have hurt her but he was also the only person who could make her feel a specific kind of good. Just having him around made her feel safer and she had agreed to sleep over his house for a reason. "Don't be stupid, Puck. We've slept in the same bed together for the past five years, what's one night going to do?"

Puck felt himself get a little hopeful as he nodded and walked further into the room, closing the door behind him. When he pulled his shirt off of his body, Puck smiled as Rachels breath hitched a little bit. "So it's true what they say happens to pregnant chicks? You really do get horny all the time don't you?" He flexed his muscles a little bit, giving Rachel a good look at him.

She'd be lying if she said that she didn't miss the sex. The sex between the two of them was always, always hot. He'd touch her and kiss her in all the right places and when he'd nibble on her ear in that way that he knew she was obsessed with, ugh. And ever since she reached four months it'd kind of been all she's been able to think about. She tried controlling it and not thinking about sex at all but there were some nights where she felt like she'd die if she wasn't touched so she'd have to do the job herself. When Puck mentioned it she just shrugged, she wasn't afraid of speaking about her hormones with anyone and even less him. "I'm not horny but I'd be lying if I said that it wasn't triggered more easily now that I'm past my first trimester."

"How's your morning sickness by the way? It's supposed to get better after the third month but I read that it's different for some people."

"You read?" Rachel arched an eyebrow and sat down on top of the bed against the headboard so her back was propped up on a pillow. "You've been reading pregnancy books?"

Puck shrugged "Yeah I mean, I realized that with uhm," He still couldn't find himself able to just casually mention his own little girl even after all of these years. "With Quinn I never really thought of learning anything about babies but I'm really trying to be a good dad this time so I thought I'd brush up on a few things." He actually sounded kind of shy about it. Puck loved doing things for Rachel but this was a little cheesy and he didn't know if she'd make fun of him or not for it.

Oh god, here it came. Rachel felt her eyes water as he spoke about reading the books. Of all the years that they'd spent together she didn't think that he's ever done anything as sweet as this. "N-Noah," Her voice betrayed her and cracked as she said his name but she didn't have enough time to care because sobs took over and before she knew it she was crying into his arms. "I-I I'm so-"

"Shhh, don't you dare." Puck whispered to her as he rubbed her back. He was hesitant towards hugging her at first, fearing that it might be an invasion of her personal space or something but when she started sobbing he couldn't take it. Rachel should never have to cry tears of sadness over him, even if it was just because of hormones. "It's alright, okay? I'm kind of used to your crazy." He chuckled.

"I'm not crazy!" She pulled back just enough to smack him hard against the shoulder but then pulling him back into a hug. "God, this is all so fucked up. I'm supposed to hate you! You're an idiot and you insulted me and I shouldn't be here right now giving you a second chance." She said before burring her face in the warmth of his neck and letting the tears fall freely now. "But you make it so hard, Noah. You read baby books and you call Amelia all the time and actually talk to her and respect my privacy instead of being a dick and forcing me to talk to you." She sobbed against him once again and felt his arms tighten around her waist, rubbing her back gently.

Puck was confused. One minute she said she hated him and the next she was telling him all of the things he was doing right? "I don't understand, Rach. Do you want me to be a dick? Is that what you're asking for? Cause I'd do anything to get you back even if it is kind of weird…"

"No! No, no, no. Ugh." She finally pulled away from the embrace they were in but she took both of his hands in hers anyways. "Its' just that I want to hate you, I really want to hate you, but I can't. How can you be so sweet and perfect after fucking up so badly?" It didn't make sense to her. Any other woman would just walk away and forget about it. She had a daughter and son to think about and she didn't need someone holding her back but it didn't feel right to just shut Puck out.

"Because I am perfect for you, baby." He said while gripping her fingers slightly. "Can't you understand that? Yeah, I fucked up but I was trying to get Santana off of me when you walked in Rach, she kissed me and I was too drunk to react as quickly as I should have. As for the insulting thing, you know who I am. I'm a fucking jerk sometimes and I don't try to hide it. None of those things I said were true and I just said them to get on your nerves and make you fight back."

Rachel looked down and pulled a hand away from his to wipe a tear off of her cheek. "Why would you want that?" She asked without looking up at him.

"Because it's what we do, Rach! We fight and you call me names and I tell you shit I don't mean and then we make up and have mindblowing sex. You weren't supposed to run away from me, baby." He reached out and tilted her chin up gently so she'd have no choice but to look up at him.

Rachel frowned but didn't pull away. "What if I'm tired of fighting, Noah? I'm just so tired of it. Can't we just be normal and happy? We're having a baby for crying out loud. If I was able to give up my role on a Broadway play for this family then you could give up being a dick for us, can't you?"

Puck sighed and let go of her hands, throwing himself down on top of the bed and covering his face with his hands as he tried to think of something to say. "We aren't normal, Rach. I love you and if you'll take me back I promise that I'll never let anyone hurt you or our children but we're going to fight because it's who we are. If I could I'd change that just to make you happy but I can't. I can't change who we are and I can't change what I feel for you so you're going to have to choose. A life with me and all of my love and all of our stupid meaningless arguments, or a life without me at all."

There it was. The options that Rachel had been avoiding all summer long. She could live with arguing with Puck from time to time because she knew that even when they were fighting they were going to be happy together but she was afraid. She was afraid that one day he was going to take it too far again or maybe one day she would take it too far and this would happen all over. Puck was the only person on the planet who she thought could actually break her heart and that scared the living shit out of her. But living without him scared her too. She knew that if she had to then she could but she'd never find a love like Puck. She was never going to feel for anyone what she felt for him and yeah she was young but she knew for a fact that if she didn't have Puck then she didn't want anybody. She'd rather be single for the rest of her life. She looked down at him for a second before laying on her back beside him and curling into his side, her bump getting in the way a little but not stopping her from trying to be close to him anyways. "You know that I love you, Noah." She said before pressing a few kisses along his neck.

He sighed as he felt her lips against his skin, god it'd been so long since he'd been touched this way. He groaned gently as her fingers traced his chest gently but when her hand reached the waist of his pants he had no choice but to stop her. "What does that make us?" He asked.

Rachel just looked at him for a second before sighing "It means that we can take things slow and try." She made no promises that they'd go back to normal but she wanted him so badly and she knew that she couldn't give him up. Plus it'd be a little selfish to not even consider giving this a second chance, they had their children to think about. Rachel didn't want to end up being one of those women who were married just because they felt they needed to be for their children. She was independent and didn't need some guy to take care of her, she didn't need anyone when it came to security but she didn't want to be alone either. "I've missed sleeping with you. I haven't slept very well ever since I left New York."

Puck grinned. Trying to try was better than not trying at all right? And when she told him that she'd missed sleeping with him he pulled her close against him until she was wrapped up in his arms and couldn't get out. He pressed a kiss onto her forehead and rubbed her back gently with one hand while the other played with her hair "I haven't slept all that well myself." He glanced down at her stomach for a second and the hand that was playing with her hair stopped suddenly. "Rach, do you- uh, shit. Would you care if I… I mean there are some pregnant chicks who are really touchy and hate it but I was wondering if I could…"

Rachel let out a soft chuckle and grabbed his hand, placing it right where she knew the babys foot was resting. "I don't mind. Who am I to keep you from something that is yours?" She smiled when she saw Pucks grin and let her hand rest on top of his before closing her eyes softly.

"I'm going to make everything better Rachel. I promise, we're going to have our family back together." He said before kissing her forehead once again and closing his own eyes.

* * *

The next few days didn't go as swiftly as Puck had hoped that they would. Rachel would be fine with him one second, letting him feel whenever baby kicked, kissing him on the cheek randomly and holding onto his hand whenever she had the chance but there were moments and sometimes even full days where she was just a complete bitch and Puck wanted to light her on fire. She'd give him the cold shoulder, insult him in front of Amelia and Sarah and oh god he hated it the most whenever she would just give him one worded answers. Like the time he practically gave her a speech about how much he loved her and how strong he thought she was for carrying his kid for nine months after he held her hair back and watched her vomit every meal she'd had in the past two days and all she was able to tell him was 'mhm.' He knew that this was more than just the hormones thing. She was confused so she was trying to confuse him too. It was Rachels way of trying to cope with things and he was going to sit through it cause it wasn't like he didn't deserve being treated like an asshole.

He'd finally reached a point where he didn't know what to do the day of Tina and Arties engagement party/barbeque.

They started out normal enough, Rachel spent most of the time with Tina and Shelby talking about wedding details and baby things while Puck followed Artie, Mike and Matt inside of the newly purchased home where they sat around the basement and played a few games of pool and caught up with each other. He couldn't believe he'd lost touch with these guys, he'd gotten so caught up in his shit in New York that he'd forgotten how cool they were. Sure the guys in New York were ten times crazier but these guys were still the shit. He made a mental note to keep in touch with them once he and Rachel and Amelia went back to the city. And when Mr. Shue, or Will as he insisted to be called now, walked in and started having a few beers with them Puck couldn't believe his own eyes.

"Shit, I still can't fucking believe we're doing this. I always knew you were a chill guy but damn, I never thought I'd see the day we'd get to sit down and drink a couple of beers with Will Shuester." He couldn't believe Finn wasn't here to see this. The big lug practically thought of Will as a father and he would have loved this.

Will just laughed and shook his head "Yeah, stop mentioning it. You guys make me feel so old." Will wasn't old at all though but Puck chose not to comment. "So I ran into a very pregnant looking Rachel outside, please tell me it's your kid."

Out of everyone who supported them, Will was the firmest believer in their relationship. He'd seen high school romances before but the two of them had something special. Something that he could tell was way beyond their years back then and he always said that he couldn't wait to watch them get married someday.

"Yup it's a boy, can you believe it?" Puck said proudly. If he could he would have totally pulled out the sonogram pictures that Rachel had given him the day after that first night they spent together but he hadn't brought it with him because he wasn't a chick and that was totally Rachels job. Somehow though, he'd wound up being the proud parent who talks to the baby bump when no one else was around and liked to talk obsessively about it. Rachel was way too chill about this for his liking and he couldn't understand how she wasn't bouncing off of the walls like he was on the inside.

"And how are the two of you doing? Are wedding bells going to be ringing for the two of you anytime soon?"

Puck chuckled and shook his head as he took another sip of his beer "I wish." He said with a shrug "I fucked up a while back and we're taking the relationship slow which is better than nothing but she kind of hates me. I dunno, it's just hard sometimes."

Will furrowed his eyebrows "I'm sure it'll be fine. You guys have always been crazy about each other."

"I hope so." Puck shrugged before patting Will on the shoulder then turning to watch Matt and Mike play a game of pool.

"Hey Rach," Will walked up to Rachel and smiled "Do you mind if I take this seat?"

Rachel shook her head and took another bite of her corndog. "Go ahead, I feel like I haven't seen you in forever. How are you?" She asked.

"I'm great! I wish Emma could be here but she's visiting her parents for the weekend."

Rachel smiled "I heard the two of you got married a few years ago, I never got the chance to say congratulations."

Will shrugged and grinned at her "Yeah, I kind of realized I couldn't live without her so why not just make it official?" Plus he'd always loved being a husband. Even when he was with psycho Terri, he enjoyed having the title and being able to call someone his wife. "And congratulations on the baby." He smiled as Rachel rubbed her stomach gently. "Amelia and Puck must be excited."

"Oh you don't know the half of it. Amelia's basically got the babys life planned out for the next eighteen years, with the rate that she's going at I don't think I'll ever have to lift a finger. It's cute how excited she is for her little brother actually."

"Yeah, Amelia always has been a good kid." Will said with a smirk as he remembered the little girl. Even when she had just learned to walk and was only able to say a few words, Amelias antics gave her a reputation as nothing less than a princess. Everyone loved her though and giving her attention wasn't hard because she was always so sweet. "What about Puck?" He asked curiously noticing that Rachel hadn't even acknowledged him yet.

Rachel looked down for a short second before giving Will a fake smile and shrugging "Noah is excited too, he's going to make an amazing father again." It wasn't weird for Rachel to call Puck Amelias dad because he was. Everyone had gotten so used to considering Rachel, Puck and Amelia a little family that Jesse was nearly forgotten. As far as Amelia knew, Puck was her birth father.

Will frowned a little and put a hand on Rachels shoulder comfortingly. "Is everything alright, Rachel? I mean he isn't like hurting you or-"

"What the fuck?" Rachel stopped him mid sentence and shook her head "How could you even think that Noah could ever hurt me? He's sweet and tells me he loves me every chance he gets and treats my daughter like she was his own even though he really doesn't have to." Rachel pauses to take a breath and Will takes it as an opportunity to speak.

"Rachel I wasn't trying to offend you or anything I just wanted to make sure that-"

"He's perfect. He's absolutely fucking perfect and I'm pushing him away by acting like a complete bitch. I'm such a bitch, oh god!" Rachel felt her eyes fill with tears and covered them with her hands instantly.

"Oh, oh god uhm, no! You're definitely not a bitch Rachel, I don't even know where all of this came from…" Well this was the last time he ever tried to help an old student out with his relationship issues. Seriously, he was getting too old for this. "Rachel, you're obviously crazy about him inspite of whatever happened between the two of you. Don't you think you could find it in your heart to just let things go?"

Rachel kept her eyes shut tight as the emotional roller coaster she was on came to an end and she was able to focus on Wills words. "I don't know." She said gently after she felt comfortable enough that her voice wouldn't crack. "What if it happens again? Noah doesn't know the affect he has on me. I don't think I could live through him breaking my heart." She sounded so small and fragile and Will was almost taken aback at the unfamiliar tone. He was used to listening to a loud and proud Rachel speak her mind, not an insecure Rachel seek for guidance.

He sighed and shook his head "That's the thing about commitment, Rach. You'll never know if it's a mistake or not until something bad actually happens. Trust me, if anyone knows about this second chance thing it's me and I'm telling you, go with what your heart says because even if it's wrong at least you'll be happy for a while and you'll know you tried."

They sat there in silence for a good three minutes, Will watching Rachel as she thought deeply about this new found advice. She just didn't want to get hurt, she didn't want to end up alone with two children and feeling like she needed to depend on someone because by then she'd be reliant on Puck. She didn't want to loose the love of her life. But wouldn't pushing him away technically be loosing him too? She looked at Will with a smile on her face and stood up suddenly. "Thank you so much. You know, you're always going to be Mr. Shue to me." She winked playfully at him before walking away.

It didn't take long for Rachel to find Puck hanging out with a bunch of the other guys by the grill. He was standing there having what looked like a pretty light conversation with Matt before she walked right up to him without even caring about who was around or what they would think and pulling him into the most passionate and loving kiss they'd shared since they were just teenagers trying to figure out their feelings for each other.

Puck groaned and kept his eyes wide open for a second as Rachel kissed him. God, if this was one of those pregnancy hormone things again he was pretty sure that it was the best punishment anyone had ever bestowed upon him. He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her, ignoring the whistles and calls that the other guys were throwing at them as they practically made out in front of all of his friends. "Rach," He breathed against her lips before pulling away just enough to rest his forehead against hers "What is this about, babe?"

She just grinned and kissed his lips gently again before responding "Just appreciating you. This is my way of apologizing for acting like such a bitch lately. I know you love me and you're just trying to help."

"Okay, I don't know what's up with you but I'm just gonna sit back and accept it." Well he got as close as he could to sitting by pressing himself against the house which he'd been leaning a foot on and wrapping his arms around her waist as much as he could with her stomach in the way and kissing her again with all of the passion and feeling that he'd been holding in just for her these past few weeks. Now this was what he called serious progress.

Rachel smiled against his lips after a while before grabbing one of his hands and pulling away "Now come on, your son is demanding you get me a burger." She rubbed her stomach with her free hand for affect and led Puck towards the food.

He just chuckled and followed behind her because fuck, if you'd just hand Rachel Berrys tongue down your throat you'd be just as willing to do whatever she wanted too. Especially if she had your baby inside of her belly. He still stood by the theory that this girl would be the death of him someday.

* * *

They spent the rest of the night holding hands and curling up to each other whenever they got the chance, Puck would steal kisses from her whenever she wasn't speaking or eating and Rachel would put her hand on his thigh dangerously close to his crotch area causing him to want to just pick her up and take her in his car. There was no time to drive all the way back to his mom's house, when he needed her he really _really_ fucking needed her and it wasn't past him that they'd spent over two months without sex. Any contact with her made him want to blow his load right then and there.

Apparently she was a fucking mind reader or something because the minute they got into his old truck in front of Tina and Arties house, Rachel cupped him through his pants and leaned over to kiss that spot under his ear that she knew drove him insane. "Lets get home, Noah." She whispered seductively into his ear and he closed his eyes for a second and just enjoyed feeling her touching him again before turning the car on and backing out, driving as quickly as he could back to the house.

His girl was the fucking best and he spent the entire night proving it to her over and over again.

**NEXT CHAPTER: Baby names and relationship statuses are discussed, Rose comes home from the hospital, and Puck spends some bonding time with Amelia.**

**Remember! The more you review, the quicker I update.**


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